


Perfect Imperfections

by amor_absconditus



Category: Robin Hood - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, nottingham: a soap opera, rey of the hood, sheriff ren, the AU you didn't know you needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-03-08 14:20:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13460070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amor_absconditus/pseuds/amor_absconditus
Summary: What happens when an outlaw and a sheriff get engaged? Nothing good, especially for the outlaw and sheriff. Reylo in a mixed Robin Hood setting. Robin!Rey x Sheriff!RenExcerpt:“Gotcha!” Finn held up a scroll proudly before Poe snatched it from his hands.“This isn’t the route for the wagons. It’s plans for a barge.” Poe thunked Finn over the head with the offending paper before throwing it to the side and continuing his search.Rey grinned over at her fellow illiterate. “See what an education with monks gets you?”Finn rolled his eyes just in time for the door to slam open. Standing in the threshold was the Sheriff of Nottingham, royally pissed and holding his long sword in hand.





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU with Star Wars characters in a Robin Hood setting. You'll find that I'll reference many different stories and media of Robin Hood from the 2006 BBC TV series to the movie with Russell Crowe and maybe even some Disney. This'll be somewhat hopefully a novel sized story since I've plenty of ideas. There will be plenty of fights and steamy scenes in Nottinghamshire, don't you worry. It's all about that slow burn.
> 
> I've already been posting this on Fanfiction.net as well.
> 
> Comments, kudos, and all that fun jazz are loved and appreciated! Enjoy!

Rey of the Hood had been an orphan, adopted near the end of the Crusades and brought up by Luke Longstride. Nottingham was her home before he had found her. She’d learned to fight in her time alone, to scavenge to live. That hadn’t necessarily changed while she grew into a young woman in Nottingham despite some judgemental glares.

Currently, Rey was about to get more than glares. She and her best mates, Finn and Poe, were rummaging through the Sheriff’s office. They were looking for the charted route for wagons of grain that had been practically stolen from the people of Nottingham. The wagons would leave in a few days time in early nightfall. It was nearly midnight now.

“Gotcha!” Finn held up a scroll proudly before Poe snatched it from his hands.

“This isn’t the route for the wagons. It’s plans for a barge.” Poe thunked Finn over the head with the offending paper before throwing it to the side and continuing his search.

Rey grinned over at her fellow illiterate. “See what an education with monks gets you?”

Finn rolled his eyes just in time for the door to slam open. Standing in the threshold was the Sheriff of Nottingham, royally pissed and holding his long sword in hand. If it weren’t for their hoods and the shadows of the office, Sheriff Ren may have instantly recognized them as citizens of his poor shire.

“Who are you?” He demanded fiercely, to no avail. Poe was already halfway out of the window when Rey turned to tell them to run. Finn followed close behind with Rey clamoring right after him. She only made it with one leg on the sill when she was suddenly jerked back by her chape. Rey was glad for the scarf covering half of her face. To him, she looked like some outlaw boy sporting the signature look her people in Sherwood did.

“Who are you?” He hissed again, twisting the chape in his fist and drawing her closer, his sword at her throat in a silent threat. She wasn’t too worried though. Luke had taught her how to get out of most scrapes likes this. But it was his size that intimidated her. Rey had to look up at him as he glowered down at her with a pale face covered in an assemblage of freckles and beauty marks. He was striking in an odd way. The Sheriff wasn’t chiseled like Poe nor were his features as bold as Finn’s. Everything was a subtle detail that made up a portrait.

Rey actually thought hard for a response and it came quickly to her. Poe would’ve been proud of her quick wit. “Your reckoning.” She said as hoarsely as she could, trying to sound as masculine as possible. With that, she unsheathed a dagger and parried his balde, keeping it from her as she elbowed him in the ribs. He let go of her cloak in his shock and Rey didn’t hesitate. She darted out of the window but not before he grabbed her again, this time her arm.

“Stop!” He growled. All these demands, she tsked. Rey slashed blindly with her dagger in her other hand and caught his face. She didn’t wait to admire her handy work as he stumbled back, his free hand grasping his face that was already covered in blood. She fell the short distance down to the hard ground before scrambling up and running after her friends, disappearing into the darkness. Although she was sure he couldn’t see her past the walls of his house in the dark, she felt as if his gaze rested on her until she merged with the safety of the trees of the greenwood.

* * *

 

“Lady Kira?”

Rey’s head snapped up to look at her handmaiden, Rose, who was looking as if she were waiting for a reply. Guilt twinged in Rey. She’d been staring mindlessly out of the window, to the courtyard where her doom would eventually enter. Rey was still sore from her fall a few days ago, the evening before Luke had given her the worst news of her life.

Last night:

_“YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED TO WHO?!” Finn exclaimed, his eyes wide like the moon that shined above their hideout in Sherwood Forest._

_“Shhhh!” Rey hissed as Poe facepalmed. “Do you want us to get caught and all this to end?”_

_Finn looked around before turning back to her and leaning in, now using his inside voice. “If you’re getting married to him, then this will all end anyway.”_

_“Says who?” She demanded, offended by the inference he was making. Wife or not to the Sheriff of Nottingham, Rey would continue her business as being one of the Hood. They’d already made so much progress by stealing back the unfair taxes and giving coin quietly back to the needy slowly, so as to not draw suspicion from her now betrothed. Rey was going to be sick thinking about it. If she had a choice, she’d deny the pairing but the family, the Longstrides, that had taken her in from the streets and raised her needed this to keep power in Nottingham. If the Longstrides remained in power, it’d be easier for her and her merry men to continue their good work._

_Finn didn’t seem to have an immediate answer. He looked at Poe and gestured for the carpenter to provide reason for an event they all didn’t want to happen. The disbursement of the Hood could not happen when they were the only form of justice in England. Poe supplied Finn with a raised eyebrow as his answer. Finn rolled his eyes and sighed. “If we’re not ending, how are you going to lead us from the enemy base, huh?”_

_“That’s where Poe will take over. As for me, I will have the keys to his home...it’d be a shame to leave it unlocked and let some plans for the church grain to get loose.” Rey quipped. The grain was to be taken with the Friar Hux on his way to York. It wouldn’t typically be a problem, giving the church what it was owed except for the fact that Nottingham was in one of its leanest years yet in both food and Christian charity._

_“Ooooohh.” Finn grinned as he caught on. Poe snorted, being the most educated of their lot and knowing all the advantages of having a man, or in this case a woman, inside enemy lines. But he smiled and gave Finn’s shoulder an amiable pat._

_“You really need to start using your head more.” Poe chuckled and the other two joined in._

_Finn shook his head. “I’m just glad she didn’t make me leader.” They burst out into laughter._

Present:

“Lady Kira,” Rose repeated Rey’s given name, “I’m to inform you that Master Luke demands you take a bath.” Her handmaiden was obviously amused and Rey could only imagine the fuss her adoptive father had made, especially after trailing horse shit all the way up to her chamber purposefully. Somehow the servants had managed to clean it all up in the wee hours of dawn while their lady had snored away.

“What did he say if I refused?” Rey cracked a smile. Rose returned it. “He said a horse would be in the Sheriff’s place at the alter. ‘If you’re going to smell like a beast, might as well be a beast’ he said.”

Rey’s smile turned into a grin and she laughed. “Honestly, that might be preferable.” Rose gave her a knowing look before gesturing for them to exit her chambers and go to the washroom to rid Rey the evidence of her nightly exploits. “The marriage might not even go through anyway. He might decide he favors some poor farm girl and go against his uncle’s word and call off the wedding.”

“Maybe.” Rose said thoughtfully. “You’ll have to convince him you aren’t worth it if you want to go that route.”

“But then that’d be a loss of an advantage. Do you know how much more organized we could be, knowing the plans of our enemy?” By we, Rey meant the everyone under the Hood. Rose was one of the informants, friends with a bunch of unknowing gossips.

“This is true. It all depends on how much you want to sacrifice for the Hood.” Rose spoke as they entered the washroom, the tub already filled with heated clean water.

“Marriage won’t be so bad, when I think about it. We won’t have to see each other much if he’s at work all day.” Rey mused as she began to disrobe the layers that made up her nightly attire.

Rose was helping her when a smirk crossed her face. As if she knew something that Rey didn’t.

“What?” Rey demanded as she slipped into the warm waters of the tub. Already the water was turning murky from the dirt on her skin. Rose tossed in lavender to scent the bath before replying, “What happens when he comes home at night?”

Rey was silent, processing.

“To your bed.” Rose pressed for a reaction. There was empathy in her voice but she also seemed...eager to know how Rey felt. They were both at the ripe age of nineteen, Rose mere months older than Rey. That being said, they were at the age where maidens typically became women. Not that Rey wasn’t a woman...she just hadn’t been bedded yet. The act was something they’d separately fantasized about, though Rey was loathe to admit wanton ideas even to her friend.

To be bedded by the Sheriff...

A fierce blush spread across her face and down her neck as realization dawned on her innocent mind. She hoped her friend mistook it for the steamy waters. But it seemed it wouldn’t be so as Rose grinned from ear to ear at embarrassing her friend.

“He has quite the reputation with some of the women in the village.”

“Now you’re just having me on.” Rey splashed water at Rose and the other girl giggled. “It’s not like I’d care anyhow.”

“Of course. Mortal enemies, right?” Rose cackled. “Imagine if everyone knew: the Outlaw and the Sheriff. There’d be tales for years. Maybe some would twist it and make the pair of you fall in love in the stories.”

Rey snorted. “I’d rather die before it ever came to that.” She flicked some of the floating lavender before actually washing her hair and scrubbing herself down to make herself presentable to her possible future husband. Rey thought possible only because she had a small kindling of hope that this was all a nightmare.

“Don’t make yourself raw. I don’t think looking like boiled poultry will make a good first impression.” Rose continued to joke, to ease Rey’s nerves. Rey was grateful for her friend’s concern but replied in a grumpy manner nonetheless. “Perhaps that’s the point. Besides, we’ve already met before. He just doesn’t know it.”

“Mmm, yes. I’m sure he’d thank you for the lovely scar he’ll have after that cut heals.” Rey had told Rose about the mark she had left on the Sheriff during her escape when she’d returned safely to the manor. Rose hadn’t believed her until she went into the village the other day to run errands and saw the ghastly wound.

Rey merely smirked before she finished cleaning herself. She exited the tub and took the towel from Rose’s hands and dried herself off in time for her handmaid to begin dressing her in the suffocating but necessary layers of her chemise and under dress. Her cote was a dark green, that of the leaves of the greenwood and that of the regalia those of the Hood wore. How fitting for Rey of the Hood to be clothed in her colors to meet her sworn enemy. Simple but noble. The final touch was brown ceinture around her waist, completing the earth tones.

Rose combed and did her hair. A different pair of expert hands were better than Rey’s to tackle her tangled locks that trailed down to her mid back free. Her handmaiden braided her hair back into one long tail, exposing the elegant curve of her neck.

“There. You don’t look so much as a rogue archer now.” Rose beamed at her when she walked around her to examine her handiwork.

Rey rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. “Let’s get this over with.” Gathering her courage and skirts, Rey marched out of the room and made her way to the courtyard.


	2. Second Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, kudos, and all that fun jazz are loved and appreciated!

When Luke saw Rey appear in the courtyard, he looked stunned and she knew why. Rey always wore men’s clothing around the manor with her hair knotted at the nape of her neck. She usually looked like a servant despite having been raised by a lord. Well, Luke was a poor lord after Prince John had become king. England was starved of resources after Richard’s crusades and King John was going about restocking his resources in the worst way possible: the incredibly unfair taxation. This was when trousers really came in handy. One couldn’t really run around taking from the rich and giving to the poor in a dress.

Rey wrinkled her nose at her guardian and good humor laced his eyes. “What is your verdict?” He asked about the dress, getting as much fun as he could out of this rare occasion. She usually went down spitting when she was forced in such garments.

“I think I could still shoot a few arrows.” She replied, holding her head high with a smirk as she stood beside him. His shoulders shook with quiet laughter. Rey had grown up fighting the world until Luke had taken her in as his ward from shear pity, she believed. He was a weapons master and she had begged him mercilessly to teach her how to swing a blade and draw a bow. Luke had finally relented after only a half of a year. Rey had an uncanny talent with the bow. Finn claimed she could shoot a rabbit from a hundred-fifty yards away. Rey didn’t encourage or deny his bragging of her skill, but the next time a rabbit popped up a hundred-fifty yards away, she’d try her luck.

The moment of humor was halted by a servant running through the gates, breathless. “The Sheriff is on his way!” He wheezed. Rey’s face visibly fell and Luke placed a warm hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “I wish there was another way but I have no sons or children of my own to pass the shire on to. And because you’re not of my blood but of my name, marrying my nephew will secure Nottingham for the Longstrides.”

“But I won’t be able to have power. That goes to the husband.” Rey spoke bitterly despite the honor of being considered her guardians child. He had practically raised her so she wasn’t sure why she was so moved by the words.

“I’m sure if you badger him enough like you do me, he’ll give in. You’re the most stubborn out of all of us.” Luke smiled reassuringly, fully believing that she could remain in control of the lands after the union. Rey looked at him in awe. He had so much faith in her. She couldn’t very well let him down. She nodded with a half-hearted smile, eased by his confidence.

They didn’t get on further with the conversation because at that moment, a great big beast trotted into the courtyard with his master on his back. The horse was as dark as the Sheriff’s obsidian hair. And his temperament it seemed. Ren still looked royally pissed and Rey had to wonder if that was just his face. Her stomach turned over at the idea of having to marry that.

He was dressed in a dark blue thick-cloth jerkin over his undershirt that clung to his masculine figure. His cloth trousers were of stained black but his riding boots were brown. Armguards rested on each forearm, both patterned with that of feathers. Expensive handiwork but the Sheriff had the funds to have such luxuries. On his belt was the same sword he had held at her neck just a few nights ago. Across his chest and around his neck lay the heavy Sheriff badge.

Overall, the Sheriff was dressed like a noble man and it suited him well. Rey would make sure not to mention that to him or anyone. If Rose or Finn found out, they wouldn’t let her live it down even if it was painstakingly obvious that the Sheriff was a stunning man.

If he could afford such clothes, he had money. Rey’s fingers twitched. She would happily help continue to waste his coin except it would be found in the hands of the needy, not a tailor. Rey understood the hunger those in the village felt. She still remembered it to this day with her belly full of broth. No one, especially not a child, disserved such struggles.

Ren dismounted and handed his reins over to Finn, one of the stable masters at the manor, casually. Obviously, he didn’t recognize Finn from when he had caught them snooping in his office and some unconscious tense part of Rey sighed in relief. It was then she took the time to look at his face. There was an angry gash starting from his brow that went down under his right eye and continued across his cheek and under his jaw. Rey hadn’t realized she’d gotten that much of him. Her hubris hummed in satisfaction.

“Dear God, Ren. What happened to your face?” Luke asked upon seeing his nephew’s face when Ren approached them.

Me. Rey tried not to smirk and looked down at the mud covered cobblestones of the courtyard.

“I ran into some trouble with Robin of the Hood.” Ren muttered, obviously not too keen on sharing the news.

“Robin?” Rey blurted out, confused by this unknown name.

Ren’s eyes turned, almost reluctantly, on her. His jaw muscle twitched before he answered her. “That’s what we’re calling him. Small like a bird and flutters away like one. A frightened robin.”

If Rey didn’t have so much at risk in that moment she would’ve spat some insult at him. Instead, she swallowed her anger and processed his words. They’re calling her Robin. They thought she was a he. All the better for her. Men didn’t suspect women to be traipsing through the woods as a skilled archer. This would make it easier to keep her identity secret. The men of the Hood all called her Rey but everyone else could call her Robin, that was fine. But in the manor, she was Lady Kira.

“Perhaps if you were smaller, you would be able to catch up.” The words just slipped from Rey’s mouth.

His eyes narrowed on her. Good. She struck a nerve. They were already looking to be the perfect married couple.

Luke interrupted before hostilities could ensue from his short-tempered nephew and ward. “Nephew, this is Lady Kira.” He introduced her. Ren had never visited Nottingham in her youth. He had been with his mother in Richmond while his father had been in the Crusades. Luke had been as well but had returned where his brother-in-law had not. Rey didn’t know what it was like to lose a father. As far as she remembered, she had none.

“Lady Kira? A title for a lowborn?” Ren mused as he looked her over with scrutiny. He suddenly halted this procession though and Rey felt a surge of self-consciousness as he looked away. Perhaps she wasn’t pretty enough for the Sheriff. Not that she should care, Rey reminded herself.

“I say she is my daughter, Ren. Do you go against my word?” Luke’s tone had taken a note of warning. Ren looked at his uncle with a feral glint in his eye. He was actually insulted that a mere orphan had rose up well in the world. Not that it was by much, given the current circumstances.

“Of course not, Uncle. But she is just not of our blood.”

“Which is why you’ll be able to marry her and keep these lands in our family. She cares about Nottingham a great deal more than yourself so you could not ask for someone more loyal to our family.” Luke spoke with finality. Ren’s jaw flexed again. “So there is no choice?”

“None unless you’d be willing to let Gisborne take our family lands.”

Ren stiffened and anger flashed across his features. Rey was surprised. It seemed that they shared a common enemy, the Lord Snoke Gisborne. This man had vowed to take all that was precious from the Longstrides, rooted from the family feud two generations back.

Ren’s eyes slid to her again. “I suppose it could be worse.” Her brows rose at his words. That was almost a compliment but blatantly an insult all the same. Rose coughed from behind Rey and she could tell that her friend was trying very hard not to laugh.

Gathering her skirts, Rey curtsied mockingly as a formal introduction. “The pleasure is definitely yours, Sheriff.”

Luke clapped his hands together before Ren could retort. “Let us go have some lunch. Full bellies should ease the spirits as we discuss the timeline.” Rey beamed at the Sheriff as she turned with Luke to go back inside the manor. His gaze was hot against her back and she couldn’t help the shiver that ran up her back, making her smile disappear. This dance was a dangerous one, she reminded herself.

They arrived to the dining hall, food already placed at one half of the table where three seats were set up. Rose diverted to the kitchens to get along with her chores, the greeting of their guest over. Though, it was more likely she would head to the stables and cackle madly with Finn over the whole situation. Rey sighed through her nose as she sat down at the chair adjacent to the head of the table where Luke would sit. Ren sat across from her, his expression less dark and more moody. Great. She could now confirm that he was a brooder. God save her.

“Master Luke.” A servant appeared in the hall before his lord could even sit down. “There is a messenger here. It’s about the new Friar.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“He said it was best you come now and it that it will only take a moment.” The servant spoke with regret, aware of the importance of this meal.

“Very well.” Luke left Rey alone in the hall, sitting across from her enemy.

It was silent except for the crackling fire in the hearth as Rey began to serve herself.

“Wouldn’t it be best to wait for your guardian?” Ren asked. Rey looked up at him as she tore a leg from the roast duck and blatantly dropped it on her platter.

“He won’t mind.”

“Obviously not if he hasn’t taught you manners.” He grated.

Rey’s brow twitched in annoyance. “And what do you know of manners, Sheriff??” She shot back, digging her hands in the rolls and gravy.

“Certainly more than a scavenger.”

Rey had to calm herself down quickly before she jumped across the table and ripped him a new wound across his enraging face. She sucked some of the grease from the duck off of the tip of her finger as she gave herself time to cool down. Ren’s eyes followed the action. Finally, she looked up at him with ill disguised contempt. “Wine, Sheriff Ren?”

“Please.”

Rey spared him a bitter smile before standing, grabbing the bottle of wine and taking the long way around the table to his spot before pouring the bottle’s contents in one of his glasses. Ren had watched her progress around the table with grudging patience. He now watched her begin pouring the wine. His eyes trailed up her arm until he was looking up at her face. 

Her heart stuttered at the hunger she saw in his eyes. Somehow, she managed to raise a cocky brow just to irk him. It had its desired effect and he scowled before looking back at his glass just in time to see it filled to the brim and some of the alcohol spill over onto the table. Rey quickly stopped pouring, playing it off as if it had all been purposeful and she hadn’t been caught in the depths of his dark brown gaze. A mischievous smile was on her face as she rounded the table back to her chair and poured herself some wine.

Ren was still watching her when she set the bottle down. Rey looked at him, their silent war waging. Her brow rose again. A challenge. He snorted and averted his gaze. Rey allowed herself to smile into her glass as she took a sip of the wine.

Luke returned to the silent hall, muttering nonsense about the church and priorities. He paused as he was sitting down, getting a look at his nephew’s overflowing wine glass. “Is that really necessary?” He asked, slightly amused. Ren seemed to think it was as he grabbed the glass, spilling some more wine as he brought it to his mouth. Rey didn’t watch him. She knew he was looking at her as he downed the liquid.

That was how the meal continued, in silence. Luke seemed blissfully unaware of the heated gazes shot between his nephew and ward as he helped himself to duck and wine.

For Rey and Ren, every bite and sip was a battle. When he sipped his wine, he was looking at her. That strange hunger was no longer as clear in his eyes with Luke present but it lurked in the depths of his gaze and it made Rey’s stomach twist with butterflies. In turn, whenever she licked gravy or grease from her fingers, she would glance at him and find him watching. Rey knew nothing about flirting and the idea of genuinely doing so with this man sickened her. But she could tease, even if she knew nothing. Women were innately coy and she used it to her advantage.

“So.” Luke’s voice interrupted the building tension. “It would be better to have this union to be confirmed sooner. You are both engaged now and I think we all know we can dispense with the pleasantries of a courtship since, for one nephew, you are terrible in such areas. And two, it wouldn’t be so pleasant.”

Rey watched the Sheriff turn red, whether from anger or embarrassment, she couldn’t tell. Either way, he was back to looking royally pissed and Rey was royally wishing that he had the ability to have any other expression. Then again, trying to morph his face into a smile in her mind was quite horrifying and made her choke on her wine. Both men watched as she tried to get a hold of herself before Luke continued.

“That being said, I believe you can be wed as early as when the new Friar comes in place of Friar Hux at the end of this week. Objections?”

The betrothed stewed in their separate seats. All that Luke said was justified but neither wanted to marry the other so soon if not ever. 

“Good.” Luke took their combined silence as approval. “Let us make it a merry occasion, yes? No need to scare the new Friar with venomous vows or glares. With that, I think you should stay the night Ren and you two can learn enough about each other to look amiable at the wedding. Am I heard?”

“Yes.” They spoke at the same time. Rey didn’t look at Ren. She wouldn’t acknowledge the coincidence.

“Who is the new Friar?” Rey asked curiously.

“Friar Lorsan, I believe.” Luke replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friar Lorsan being Lor San Tekka, still alive and well. Lorsan because I wanted to keep the name as 12th century English-y as possible.
> 
> I'll have a list of character roles soon so you all know who our Merry Men are.


	3. Paulum Pugna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, kudos and all that fun jazz are loved an appreciated!
> 
> That list of roles will be coming next chapter.

It was evening when Rey was retiring to her rooms early. There would be no sneaking out under the cover of darkness, not tonight when the Sheriff of Nottingham had begrudgingly accepted his uncle’s hospitality. Despite that Ren had stayed, they’d hardly breathed the same air after their lunch; Rey went to help Finn shoe one of the plow horses and Ren went and did whatever a Sheriff did on his day off. Rey had even skipped attending dinner to avoid that strange tension all over again. While it’d been logical to accept if they were a normal engaged pair, they weren’t normal. He was a monster that stole from the needy and she was an outlaw that stole from the rich. Fate had a horrible sense of humor.

In any case, it would be unwise on her part to hop across roofs and expose her home base to her enemy. That was why she had told Rose to tell the others not to expect her and continue with building their fort in the greenwood.

“My, my. Already playing the role of our lady and catching precious sleep while we labor?” Rose had teased.

“You know I’d rather be out there. Someone has to make sure Finn doesn’t keep mistaking the hammers for nails.”

“You leave that to me.” Rose had winked before leaving Rey with a lump of guilt despite knowing her friend hadn’t been serious about teasing her. Rey knew the struggles of lesser folk. She was still adamant of openly working as such regardless of Luke’s assurances that she did not have to, being his ward. They were why she had donned the hood; because they were also Rey. By saving them, she might also save herself. From what, Rey didn’t particularly know. It was something that ached deep in the crevices of her being.

A wave of loneliness surged over Rey as she found herself idle for a rare time in her life. She usually kept busy and interacted with servants or her friends to ignore it but now that she was stuck at the manor, even if for the night, a deep sadness had crept up on her. All Rey could do was start to drown in it as she approached her room and opened the door.

There, in the middle of her room and enjoying the warmth of her hearth, was a very shirtless Sheriff of Nottingham. He turned quickly and their eyes met just before Rey’s gaze drifted. She stopped her gaze at the expanse of muscled chest, before a line could be crossed and Rey realize that she could potentially appreciate such a sight. “Sweet Mary’s chickens! What the bloody hell are you doing in my chambers?” She turned to the side and looked away, red from anger and embarrassment. All thoughts of loneliness had vanished to smoke from the outrage of having her private quarters raided by this beast of a man.

“Your chambers? You mean my chambers. Don’t you know how to knock?” Ren didn’t sound as flustered as she did with his calm yet sardonic tone. But his neck and cheeks were flushed.

“D-don’t you have a shirt?” Rey stammered viciously. He didn’t reply which caused her to turn her head towards him to find the Sheriff just staring at her with an unreadable expression. Strange chills ran up her back,

“We haven’t met before yet you hiss at me ass if you know my every sin.” Ren finally spoke, ignoring her question about the shirt. Rey scoffed, opting to look anywhere but his eyes. Which was a mistake. It was then that she noticed how low his trousers hung on his hips and the image just frustrated her more. Who was he to be indecent in her chambers?

“Word gets around. Now get out!” She bit, eyes snapping up to meet his. Her ogling had been obvious, given the small smirk that had found its way onto his face. Rey ignored it and refused to back down from the beginnings of a staredown, admirable specimen or no.

“Longstride said that this would be my room.” Ren’s brow furrowed. Realization dawned on them both at almost the same time in their hot-headed states of mind. Since they hadn’t really interacted earlier in the day like he had requested, this was probably Luke’s stealthy attempt at having the ice broken between them. Cunning old man. Too bad the ice was thicker than that of a glacier.

“Unfortunately for you, these are my chambers. Get out.” Rey repeated. Her room, her bed. He wouldn’t steal from her of all people. But as his wife, your room and bed will be his too. Rey cursed the small voice in her head that reminded her of just how intimate marriages were.

“That is not the way to treat your future husband nor a guest.” Ren smirked, as if he had heard the small voice too.

Rey rolled her eyes. He was going to play that card; the card neither of them really cared for. “I won’t accept a monster as my husband.” The words seemed to hit home as the Sheriff took a step back and his gaze darkened, the gash on his face making him look all the more frightening. All cockiness was gone.

“Monster? Is that what you think of me, Lady Kira?”

“I know the things you’ve done. I’ve heard. Like I said, word gets around here faster than fire. You’re a monster.” That was the only word that she could think of to characterize him. He took money and food from the needy to be sent to King John to pay for the overwhelming amount of taxes charged on England. The Crusades may be over, but the aftershocks were still strong.

“Yes, I am.”

Rey’s eyes widened in surprise. Ren knew he was a monster. That should have filled her with satisfaction but it didn’t. The look on his face perplexed her. He didn’t seem angry or pleased, just weighed down with the burden of the title. As if he cared. How can a man that steals bread from children care?

“You know everything about me, do you Lady Kira?” Ren took a step forward and then another. Rey stayed rigid, frozen to her spot still at the threshold of her chambers.

“I know enough.” She lifted her head with an air of dignity. He was in no way intimidating with that new predatory look lurking in the depths of his eyes and the extra head of height he had over her.

“You do?” He was only a pace away from her when he paused, seemingly bemused as he searched her face. Rey tried not to tremble under his scrutiny, tried desperately not to look lower than his face at temptation. Honestly, what had gotten into her? Before, she hardly did a double-take when Finn or Poe or any other man was shirtless before her. How was it that she was reduced to a blushing kitchen maid before the worst man ever? Defiance remained strong in her aura, eyes gleaming with it. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing what he did to her. Traitorous body.

“Ah, you do.” He confirmed and took the final step that had him standing a breath’s length from her. Rey had to turn her head up more to continue her stare down. From this distance, she could smell leather, sweat, and fresh soil. The musk of a man who lived near farmland. There was something sweeter too, but she couldn’t place it as he continued. “Being a monster is enough for you.”

“Why shouldn’t it be if it’s the truth?” Rey had been caught off guard by how...earnest he had been in admitting to what he was but she couldn’t let it fool her into thinking he was good. Good men don't leave children to starve on the streets. Good men took them in and offered them shelter.

“Would you not find me to be more after we are wed?” He seemed genuinely curious if not frustrated by her stubborn stance. The earnestness behind is question took her a back but she wasn’t willing to lose this battle.

“Of course not. A dog is a dog after all.”

Ren didn’t answer. Victory sung through Rey until she witnessed something flash in his eyes so fast, she thought she may have imagined it. That it may have been a reflection of something inside of her.

“I’ll find somewhere else to sleep.” The words passed her lips without a thought; she needed some excuse to get away. Ren looked as surprised as she felt and seemed to be about to quarrel but Rey back out of the room and closed the door before he could utter a word. She’d already disappeared down the hall when he opened it up. Rey heard the door shut and sighed, a phantom of dark eyes glazed with something she knew all too well in her head.

Pity for the Sheriff of Nottingham? Rey didn’t want to feel such things for him, not when he lacked such compassion for the lesser people. For her people. The evening was seeming to end on a rather heavy note and Rey desperately wanted to get out into Sherwood but had to settle for stealing the rest of the wine leftover from dinner and sleeping in the great hall, the only other room in the manor that had a hearth but no one sleeping at it besides the wolfhounds. She created a nest of furs in Luke’s dining room chair, the largest, and dragged it close enough to the fireplace to feel the warmth of dying fire. Rey nestled in the chair, taking occasional swigs from the bottle as she watched the fire die to embers. It was the combination of the soothing pop of burning wood and the buzz of wine that eventually lulled her to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 

Rey woke slowly. The back of the chair was facing the windows, giving her time not to rise with the sun in her eyes. She was curled up in the seat, empty bottle cradled in her arms with a blanket tucked around her. Next to her in front of the fire stood her guardian.

When she groaned and stretched, Luke turned with a bemused expression as he watched her. Rey’s head pounded from moving and she set the bottle on the stone floor next to the chair before rubbing her temples.

“I take it last night went well.”

Rey groaned again as she placed her feet on the ground. “You set us up.” She tried to sound accusing but her headache was getting the best of her. Luke chuckled and went to the table to pour her a goblet of water. He returned and she took it gratefully.

“You set yourselves up. You were supposed to spend time with each other, not pretend like the other didn’t exist.” Luke drummed his fingers against the back of the chair. “I know my nephew isn’t charming and his reputation hardly aids in bringing him into a better light, but there is still Ben in him.”

Rey wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Ben? I thought he was Ren.”

Luke shrugged. “He changed his name in defiance of his family. He was named after one of the knights his father and I knew during the Crusades.”

“But why did he want to defy his family?” Although Rey understood why he probably changed it, she didn’t know the exact reason. She herself had changed her name and now had three, ever since yesterday. Her given name was Kira, the last thing she had of her parents. Rey was an identity she clung to more, especially after the formation of the Hood. Robin was just a convenient mask that hid her in more mystery. She was sure the lads were getting a kick out of it but they would’ve assumed she’d been a man too if they hadn’t known her.

“It’s...complicated. It all ended up as a mess and here we are today.” Her guardian sighed, as if the weight of telling just that morsel was exhausting.

Rey wasn’t satisfied with the answer but she wouldn’t press him, for now. She took a sip from her cup, dry mouth relishing in coolness of the water. “The point in telling me all this is?”

“Marriage isn’t easy and I do want the best for you both. Just try to be pleasant with him. I know you have your differences, but he doesn’t.” He gave her a knowing look. They hadn’t outright spoken about her shenanigans in Sherwood, this being the first time Luke had almost acknowledged it. But he was right. Rey shouldn’t give the Sheriff anything to be suspicious of. It’d make getting him to trust her a lot harder.

“Fine.” She spoke finally. “I’ll be...cordial.”

Luke nodded, an appreciative smile on his lips and in his eyes. “Thank you.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead, a rare act of sentiment she’d only received at times he was truly happy or grateful. Obviously, this meant a lot to him.

Past her headache, Rey inwardly scolded herself. Of course this was important to him, this about keeping family land in family hands. She would have to be more mindful around Sheriff Ren. Thinking of him as a Ben was alien to her. An image of sad eyes popped up into her head from the night before. There might be Ben in him sure, but he certainly was more Ren.

Luke was moving to leave and get about his day when Rey called after him, “Thank you for the blanket.”

He paused a moment to look back at her, a strange smile on his face. “It wasn’t me.” Then he left Rey alone with her thoughts.

The others never came up here during the night and they probably all crashed in their beds in the early morning before dawn. No one ever bothered coming to the dining hall at night, even servants. Well, there were the hounds but they didn’t have the abilities to drag a blanket over her and tuck her in.

A blush made its way slowly to her cheeks as she thought of the last option. After all, he had been the only one to know she wouldn’t be sleeping in her chambers. If it had been him, the small act of kindness after their spat confused her and caused a foreign warm feeling in her gut. This whole engagement thing was adding up to be far more complicated than she had originally thought.


	4. Third Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and comments! You don't know how much it makes my day. More is always welcomed and loved!   
> ...that sounded incredibly greedy but it is true. Enjoy!

Fortunately or unfortunately, Ren had left the Longstride manor by the time Rey had been able to drag herself from the chair. Servants had reported that he left early on Sheriff’s business. Something or other to do with Hood activity the previous night. That drove Rey straight to Rose who was gathering eggs from the chicken coop in the corner of the courtyard.

 

“What’s this about Hood activity last night?” Rey asked neutrally, trying not to alarm Rose. She wasn’t mad about any of it, if anything she was disappointed to be left out on the action.

 

Rose’s reaction, however, made her concerned. Her friend’s eyes widened and her lips pursed as she turned to look at Rey. “I told them not to do it.”

 

“Do what?” 

 

Rose paused a moment, as if pondering how to word what she was about to say. “Maybe it would be best if Poe told you himself.”

 

Rey placed her hands on her hips, a quiet denial to Rose’s suggestion. “He’s not here and I asked you.”

 

Her friend looked around the courtyard to make sure there wasn’t anyone dropping any eaves before sighing. “Poe and some others raided the grain supply last night.”

 

Rey’s eyebrow twitched upon hearing the words but her mind was slowly processing. Did she hear Rose right? Poe had launched a raid that would have ideally been done in two days?

 

“I told them not to do it.” Rose repeated, reading Rey’s expression as it transformed into that of anger.

 

“Well, they should have listened.” Rey’s voice was a hiss and she spun on her heels, making to leave the walls of the courtyard and down into the shire’s town. She marched all the way down, Rose trailing behind her, babbling something or other Rey didn’t care to hear. Poe was a hot-headed fool to have done this. All their careful planning and patience wasted.

 

Poe’s house came into view down one of the side streets and Rey had the mind enough to compose her features so as not to draw attention like a raging bull charging down main street. Poe was coming out of his house as she drew near, drying his hair with his shirt. When he finally caught sight of Rey gliding towards him, he tried to back up into his house but it was too late. Rey followed him in before he could close the door on her face.

 

“Are you mad?!” She seethed. Rose entered behind her and closed the door before the confrontation could attract the scrutiny of passersby. Poe threw his damp shirt to the side and picked up another before tugging it on. Rey noted, with a strange note of disappointment, that seeing her friend shirtless didn’t have the same effect as seeing the Sheriff in the same state. It was probably because she was raging mad though. The promise of having food in one’s belly for the winter was far more prominent than a shirtless man.

 

“They were going to leave tonight!” Poe began to defend himself. “We don’t have the time anymore to wait for your wedding and for you to take your sweet time finding the planned routes. The grain was right there for the taking, especially with the Sheriff up at the manor.”

 

Rey’s brows furrowed in frustration. “Yes but how many sacks were you able to get?”

 

A pause. “About four.” Four? That was hardly enough to plant a field or two. The crops would only be enough for one meal.

 

“Why would that be?”

 

Poe was beginning to look frustrated himself as Rey was slowly bringing to light the logic behind her anger. “Because there were only four of us and the sacks are heavy. What little guards they had put up a fight when we came back for more. Alright, I understand why it would’ve been wise to wait so we could’ve taken the wagons with the grain but Friar ‘Hugs’ isn’t exactly living up to his unofficial title. He was planning to steal away tonight quietly; we overheard the guards talking about it before we striked.”

 

“Poe, you’re the most educated out of all of us. How could you recklessly ruin our chances? The Sheriff has probably assigned more men to guard the grain now that he knows we’re targeting it.” She prodded a finger at him accusingly.

 

“Let me set the record straight.” Poe advanced, pushing her hand to the side. She brought it back and a little slappy fight ensued. “I only know how to read and write! The priests didn’t teach me about strategies. They made me read the Bible- stop it!” He pushed her arms away after she gave his chest a little shove. Rey didn’t pursue the childish fighting further, retreating a step back.

 

“Well, everything certainly makes sense now.” She huffed, trying to play off her embarrassment. Rey was embarrassed because she had assumed that a holy education had equated to Poe being smarter in all realms of life. Well, so had Finn. But now that she was looking back on the past, Poe had only offered answers that sounded biblical or whenever something had to do with ink and parchment. Those expectations were on her and she sighed. “I am sorry.”

 

Poe snorted humorously. “Don’t be. I did lead you all on about my education experience.”

 

Rey shook her head and rubbed her temples with both hands. Maybe it would have been better to establish Finn as the leader in her absence. “Alright.” She looked up at her fellow Hood members. “Since we’ve now lost the element of surprise, we’re going to need more than four men when we attack the wagons. Rose, go to the church and see how many men there are now so we have a rough estimate of what to expect tonight.”

 

“Tonight?” Rose asked.

 

Rey nodded, a wry grin on her face. “I’m not trapped in the Sheriff’s house as his little wife yet.”

 

“So you’re coming with us?” Poe ventured hopefully.

 

“I am. Consider it a wedding gift from me to Nottingham.”

 

* * *

 

Later that night, Rey left the manor with Finn and Poe in the shadows. Rose stayed behind, still opting out of combat on the grounds that gaining intel was where the true fun was at. She didn’t have the training like Rey did to give her an edge either, so it was understandable that she didn’t want to tag along on the Hood’s biggest mission to date. Rey didn’t have to worry about sneaking out since Ren hadn’t returned to the manor.

 

They were all dressed in dark shirts and trousers to help mask them in the night. Their chapes were the Sherwood green the Hood had proudly adopted as their color. Scarves covered the lower halves of their faces, their eyes safely hidden in the shadows of their hoods. Finn carried a quarterstaff while Poe and Rey carried longbows made of yew wood. The bows had almost eighty pounds of force needed to draw them. It had taken years of strengthening her body but Rey was just as able to draw the heavy weight as Poe was.

 

Once in the greenwood, the trio made their way to the hideout. The hideout consisted of a renovated cave hidden under a hill. It was large enough to house at least thirty people. Currently, it housed five of Rey’s merry men. Their faces and names were known to the public as well as their affiliations as outlaws in the Hood. Three of them, Gilbert, David, and Arthur, used to be farmers but had been caught by the Sheriff for poaching. Rey and Finn had busted them out of the makeshift jail that had been in the process of being built at the time before they could be hanged. The other two of her gang were Alan-a-Dale and Will Scarlet. All were suited up similarly to Rey with various weapons, except for the scarves given that their faces were already known.

 

“I’m surprised you still have a head on your shoulders.” Alan grinned at Poe before sending a wink at Rey. She rolled her eyes at the older man as Poe told him off jokingly. 

 

“Where’s Will?” Finn looked around the hideout.

 

“He’s the one we had watch the wagons as they entered the forest. We agreed on a signal that he would place along the paths that the grain would travel down. He’ll tie little ribbons of brown cloth on branches.” Arthur answered, hoisting a quiver full of arrows over his shoulder.

 

“David just got back from trailing Will. They’re all heading down the paths near the gully. Perfect for an ambush.” Gilbert came up, patting David on the shoulder. They all seemed confident in their mission. That was good.

 

“Is no one else wondering why Friar ‘Hugs’ is traveling down a perfect place for an ambush?” Finn interjected. “I know it’s the fastest path out of Sherwood but after last night,” he gave Rey a wary look before continuing, “don’t you all think they would have chosen a safer path?”

 

“Oh, aye. It’s a trap within a trap.” Alan chirped.

 

“Am I the only that’s never apprised?” Finn held out his arms. He turned to Poe. “How about you? Does she tell you things even after last night? Which, by the way, I did not support.” He spoke the latter to Rey.

 

Poe shrugged. “I didn’t know there was a plan until a few moments ago.”

 

“Why is it that you don’t tell me anything?” Finn addressed Rey.

 

“Because you talk to the horses too much.”

 

“I can’t see how that’s relevant.” The stable hand blundered.

 

Alan chuckled. “She’s saying the horses like to gossip about our adventures.” 

 

Finn was getting ready for a come back but Rey interrupted him before another lengthy quarrel could delay a mission...again. “People eavesdrop in the stables, Finn. And your voice carries.”

 

Finn tugged at the edge of his chape, flexing his neck a bit. “Fair enough. What’s the plan then?”

 

“The plan is to bait them with an ambush of three of us. Then they play their hand and the rest of us pop up to even the odds. There’s only five guards and Friar Hugsas you call him. When push comes to shove, we injure them and tie them up. We won’t be killing anyone tonight.” Rey reported.

 

“Who are the first three?”

 

“You, Alan, and Poe.”

 

“Nah. I don’t like this plan.”

 

“Neither do I, but she is the boss.” Poe agreed, slapping Finn on the back in a semi-reassuring manner.

 

“Don’t worry, lads. We’ll have your backs.” Arthur grinned. That seemed to worry Finn and Poe more.

 

“Speaking of ‘she,’ I have a request.” Rey said. “They’ve a new nickname for me.”

 

“Yeah, I heard. ‘Robin’ was it? You want that to be your new name instead of Rey?” Gilbert crossed his arms.

 

“To toy with them, yes.” To toy with  _ him _ for when he got the report about how the grain had been stolen by his pesky robin.

 

The others nodded. It wasn’t like nicknames weren’t uncommon in their group. Finn’s was Much and Poe’s was Will. It did get confusing when the two Wills were brought together on a job so Rey and the others usually referred to Poe as ‘Will’ and Will as ‘Scarlet.’

 

“Alright, then. Let’s go.”

 

It wasn’t hard for them to find Will’s trail with David’s help plus the fact that the majority of them knew this part of the woods like the back of their hands. Except for Poe. Apparently, he didn’t know the back of his hand too well. They stealthily followed the small strips of cloth fluttering in the rain-scented breeze until they found Will squatting behind a thicket, the noise of two wagons bumping down the path further ahead.

 

“We’re lucky to have the cloud coverage. There are men walking along the ridge of the gully. About four.” Will reported when they huddled next to him. The four extra men had to be the trap.

 

“Ten against nine? Fair enough.” Arthur commented.

 

“Nine against nine if you don’t include Hugs.” Gilbert corrected as he started to string his bow. The others that had bows began to do the same.

 

Rey nodded at Finn, Alan, and Poe in the faint light. They nodded back before slipping silently into the shadows. The rest of the gang followed from further in the forest, close enough to hear the wagons. Given that there was no alarm raised by the four enemy figures trying to move stealthily through the undergrowth, Rey assumed that the trio had made it past them.

 

Her suspicions were proven correct when they heard the wagons suddenly halt.

 

“You there! We’re on church business. Move aside!” Rey recognized it as Friar Hux’s voice. His sharp tone didn’t do much to support the ‘Hugs’ nickname.

 

“You shall not pass. Unless you answer the riddle.” Alan was shouting back.

 

Hux laughed. “Is this all the Hood has mustered? Men!” They heard the four men leave the forest side and jump down into the gully. Rey gestured for them to move and she and her merry men spread out to surround the wagons and men.

 

“Do you still want to hear the riddle?” Alan asked as if he hadn’t just been outnumbered. Rey smiled under her scarf at the sheer balls the minstrel had on him. The victims of their hold up seemed taken aback by this request.

 

“Very well.” Hux said almost reluctantly.

 

Rey and her men were in position.

 

“What has eight wheels and isn’t going anywhere?” Alan asked.

 

“What nonsense is thi-” Hux began to spit but Rey and her men popped out on cue to dispatch the guards. Rey was positioned from behind all the wagons so she popped up on the back of it and over the sacks of grain to ram the pommel of her dagger into the back of one of the guards’ head. He slumped forward and fell off into the road just as thunder sounded above head. Light drops of rain began to filter through the canopy of the forest. Alan had already taken out the three guards closest to him with the help of Will. The three former farmers were scattered, fighting sword to sword with their own foes. Poe already had one surrendered to him under the threat of his bow as Finn backed him up and pulled Hux from down from the wagon. 

 

Rey moved to knock out the other guard on the wagon but he caught her wrist in an iron grip. She gasped in surprise and he squeezed hard enough for her to drop her weapon. In the dreary light, Rey looked to meet the eyes of the guard. Through the now pouring rain, a garish scar greeted her, slanted over a pale face that held dark eyes. It seemed, to Rey, that the Sheriff of Nottingham had a face meant for sneering.

 

“We meet again, Robin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's that list of roles that I'm trying to place the characters in.
> 
> Character roles (so far):  
> Rey: Robin Hood  
> Ren: Sheriff of Nottingham  
> Rose: Maid Marian  
> Finn: Much the Miller’s Son  
> Poe: Will Stutely  
> Luke: Lord Longstride  
> Lor San Tekka: Friar Tuck
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Exordium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, kudos and all that fun jazz are loved an appreciated!

Rey felt like she should have been surprised that the Sheriff got his hands dirty every once in a while and actually did his job, but in this instance she could not. Perhaps permanently marring his face had made it personal for him and thus the extra effort to ensure the safety of the grain. She felt like a fool. Calculating him as a probable obstacle should have been automatic to her. 

 

He tugged and twisted her arm so she moved where her side was pinned against the seat, her head dangly over the edge. Arrows spilled from her quiver. She blinked against the droplets dripping from the edge of her hood as she regarded him in a split moment, her eyes safely hidden in the shadows of her hood. His dark eyes lacked that familiar melancholy that Rey had witnessed moments before surrendering her room to him for a night. They were now sharp like the blade he carried with him everywhere. The same blade his other hand was reaching for now.

 

A shrill whistle made him halt his progress. Their eyes moved to fix on Poe, his bow drawn and aimed at the Sheriff. 

 

The exchange was silent between the two men. Rey could sense her betrothed become stubborn, his grip not loosening on her arm. He had his enemy literally in his grasp and he could be rid of Robin of the Hood. The cost, however, would be an arrow through the throat. Not an outcome Rey wished for the simple fact that she would be dead.

 

Poe tsked and finally spoke. “Hand off your sword.” His words were even and hard.

 

The seconds went by like hours until Ren finally raised his hand from the hilt of his sword. His other still gripped Rey’s arm painfully. 

 

“And the arm.”

 

Ren released her and Rey rolled off of the wagon, taking the knocked out guard with her. The guard landed in the mud face first and Rey had to kneel to turn his head so he didn’t drown.

 

“Now that we’ve got them, what should we do with them?” Alan asked, thoughtfully toeing his felled foe with his boot.

 

Rey didn’t dare answer. Words had been spared between them but the Sheriff probably knew the voice of Lady Kira. Instead, she grabbed her bow from where she’d left in the back of the wagon when she had climbed up to knock out her quarry.

 

“We can tie them to the tree. They’ll be found later tomorrow.” Will Scarlet suggested. The lads all looked to her for approval and she gave a curt nod.

 

Surprisingly, the unconscious guards were harder to tie against the tree than the conscious Sheriff and Friar. Ren was the last one to have his back pressed up against a large oak near the road, Rey’s bow on him all the while her merry men did their work. Once they were all tied up to the trunk, rope binding their midsections and arms tightly, the Hood stepped back to admire their work and Rey relaxed her bow.

 

“Your faces may be hidden from us but God sees you. He knows all! You sinners shall know judgement in your own time.” Friar Hux spat, his face as red as his hair in the gloom illuminated by the torches Finn and Arthur managed to light.

 

“As will you, Friar.” Alan grinned and tapped the side of his nose. The Friar’s eyes widened in anger but he didn’t continue on his little holy rampage.

 

The Sheriff remained quiet during the entirety of it all. His gaze was trained on Rey’s figure with a steady calm and calculated look that sent occasional shivers down her spine. Next to the red Friar, Ren looked the least bit put out about his situation.

 

That was when Gilbert suddenly drew his bow and shot an arrow at Ren. Right between his legs. The missed him but the Sheriff still jumped with a cry of outrage.

 

Rey turned her head towards Gilbert and hoped he could feel her eyes boring into his figure despite the fact that the little scene had played a smile on her lips. Gilbert turned to look at her and shrugged. “He looked to at ease. Like we weren’t a threat.” 

 

Rey couldn’t hold back a snort as they looked back to the Sheriff struggling to keep his mouth closed from pouring out what were most likely heated insults.

 

Poe chuckled. “At least he’s got a little john. Else you might’ve not missed.” The members of the Hood all laughed at his joke.

 

Except for Rey.

 

The leader of the Hood choked on her own saliva at hearing those words, from laughter or shock, she couldn’t tell the cause. She wasn’t even able to cough to clear it for the chance that she’d sound to feminine. Rey could get away with her piggish snorts but she was still a woman robbing her betrothed of his dignity. Hers seemed to be slipping away as well as she turned red under the shadows of her hood and scarf and placed her hands on her knees, looking quite the picture of constipation. The other lads thankfully kept their laughter at bay at her appearance, all knowing that their poor leader’s fate was tied to the man they’d just insulted.

 

Rey couldn’t get a hold of herself so she started walking back into the gully and mounted one of the seats of the wagons. The men double checked the rope bindings before joining her in taking the wagons down the gully where’d they find an intersecting path that would lead them back to Nottingham and out of the greenwood. Alan had to slap Finn and Arthur over the backs of their heads when they brought the torches too close to the sacks of grain. Even though they were soaked, there was no point in tempting luck.

 

It was still raining and dark when they made it to Nottingham’s fields. They were still tilled from a week ago, before news of the grain being taken was given. Each member took half a sack and began to pace down the lanes, throwing seed into the ground and covering them with soil. Rey smiled at their work. She’d taken off her gloves to feel the rich soil stick to her hands. It was a pleasant feeling, planting life. Not because the seeds would grow, but because in the end, what would grow would feed Nottingham.

 

They planted most of the grain and her Sherwood-based men took the rest to their hideout in the woods. Rey, Finn, and Poe made their ways back to their respective homes in the shadows, hoping that they wouldn’t get struck by lightning as thunder rolled over in the heavens. Rey couldn’t tell if that was a sign that God was angry or pleased by their work. The thunder came with rain which helped plants grow so she hoped for the latter.

 

She was muddy and exhausted when she climbed through the window of her room. Her dirty clothes were thrown off and replaced by her chemise, the clothing that would symbolize her innocence should angry knocking come to the manor’s doors. Rey doubted that would happen this night, considering all who would do the knocking were still tied up in the greenwood and hopefully still none the wiser.

 

The outlaw fell asleep with a pleased smile, the surprised and outraged expression of Sheriff Ren playing in her mind.

 

* * *

 

Something was tickling Rey’s nose and she swatted the annoyance away, rubbing her nose until the weird sensation was lost before continuing her blissful sleep. There was a quiet giggle before more tickling ensued on her nose.

 

Rey opened her eyes and looked at the object disturbing her sleep with a frown. It was a white goose feather held by none other than her friend, Rose. Rey wrinkled her nose and swatted the feather away. The two girls fell into a small fit of laughter as she sat up and rubbed the drowsiness from her eyes. A look to the morning sky outside told Rey that she had been woken up sooner than usual.

 

“Is something the matter?” She asked, slightly alarmed. 

 

“No. Friar Lorsan made it to Nottingham last night apparently and he’s come to meet Lord Longstride to start off good relations. You’ve been asked for so wash your face and hands and put on your dress.” Rose beamed and began to do her chores about the chamber.

 

“Wouldn’t want the new Friar to cry blasphemy like Friar Hugs when I wear men’s clothes now would we?” Rey said wryly before crossing over to herall washing basin and scrubbing her face and hands. The water turned brown and she realized that her hands had still been covered in soil from the night before. Dirt was still stuck under her nails but Rose hurried her into her green dress and ceinture. Her hair was left down but Rose brushed through it and tied the two sides of her hair behind her head so it wouldn’t fly into Rey’s face.

 

The girls then rushed down the steps and into the main hall. Luke and the new Friar were seated around the dining table, breakfast laid out before them. Rey’s stomach growled at the sight and smell. She eagerly crossed the room and sat across from the Friar, next to the head of the table. Her usual spot.

 

“Friar Lorsan, my ward Lady Kira.” Luke introduced her.

 

Rey looked over to the aged Friar who had an amiable enough face. There were laugh lines to go with his wrinkles and fading hairline. Laugh lines were always a good sign. Rey smiled. “How was your journey, Friar?”

 

“A little dull until I passed through the forest. I came upon a group of men who had just been robbed.” The Friar chuckled. Rey paled some as he continued. “To think that it’d be a Brother of the Cloth and the Sheriff of your good shire that I came to the rescue to.”

 

Both men were looking at her for a reaction as she continued to stare, speechless, at Friar Lorsan. Rey caught herself and cleared her throat. “Are they alright?” She asked the expected question.

 

Lorsan chuckled. “Besides injured pride, I believe they’ll live. Unfortunately though, Friar Hux’s journey to York is delayed on the account that he has gotten a cold from being out in the rain. A rather charitable lord living nearby has taken him in so his wheezing doesn’t scare the common folk away from the church.”

 

“And what lord would this be?” Luke asked, exchanging a look with Rey. They both seemed to already have a good guess at to whom Lorsan was referring to.

 

“Lord Gisborne, I believe.”

 

Luke only nodded with raised brows in answer but Rey could read the frown in his eyes. Gisborne would try every underhanded trick to raise his favor against the Longstrides for the sake of completing some old grudge. Or maybe he was just power hungry and was using the grudge as a facade. Rey didn’t care either way; he was still a foul tempered man. Once when she was a little girl just after being taken in by Luke, she had wandered onto his lands and he had shot at her with his crossbow. Rey promptly vacated his lands and reported the action to her guardian. Upon confrontation, Gisborne had claimed he thought Rey had been some rodent. They couldn’t spur the truth from him and left him be. Rey never set foot on his land ever again.

 

“What of the Sheriff?” Rey asked, directing the conversation away from a provoking topic before either her or her guardian could get worked up. Although, talking about Ren wasn’t much better for her. She began to busy herself by taking apart a biscuit and popping bits into her mouth.

 

“Ah. Yes, your betrothed. Poor man. Seems the outlaws threatened him and nearly shot him where… well, anyway. I let him and his guards stay with me at the church to get warmed up and sleep.”

 

“For which I am still grateful for.” Ren walked into the main hall as if on cue. Rey almost choked on a piece of bread but managed to swallow it down with some wine as Ren approached the table. He was about to sit next to the Friar when Lorsan stopped him.

 

“No, go sit next to your betrothed. I want to see the pair of you together and see if you’ll survive your marriage.” The man of cloth said rather too casually. Perhaps he had seen enough marriages in his day.

 

Rey and Ren looked equally put off by the way he had phrased his concerns before Ren took the short way around the table and sat next to Rey.

 

She was suddenly very aware of how close he was, like the night in her chambers. Luckily, he didn’t have the advantage of being half clothed this time around. To mask her flustered cheeks, she took a long drink from her wine cup. To make all matters worse, she could feel his unimpressed gaze on her as she did so.

 

“There’s dirt under your nails, Kira.” The Sheriff noted. Oh so it was on first name basis now? See a man without his shirt and have him tuck a girl in and that might as well have been the marriage ceremony with the lack of formal title. Not that she had been born into that title. The only title she had truly earned was ‘Outlaw.’

 

Not letting her alarm show, Rey set down her goblet and looked side long at him. “I like to garden.” It wasn’t a lie. It was just something she hadn’t done in a week or so. Did planting the fields last night count? She wouldn’t ask Ren for his opinion on that matter.

 

“I’ll never understand why. You have the worst luck when it comes to it.” Luke supported her alibi with a humorous smile.

 

That seemed to satisfy the Sheriff for whatever his curiosity had been rooted in as he began to fix himself a plate of food. “There’s an abandoned corner in my garden that you may use.”

Rey’s eyes bugged. Then she remembered that she was going to marry this man. As Sheriff, he was living at the Sheriff’s appointed quarters. Rey would be expected to house with him as well lest rumor ruin their marriage and Gisborne twist that to his advantage in some way. Still, the Sheriff was offering up something of his and giving it to her, knowing from the implication of his uncle that she was downright terrible at it and might ruin it. She never knew that a taker could give.

 

“Thank you.” The first positively genuine words spilled from her mouth. And Rey didn’t regret them as she saw his face transform from that brooding mask to something softer.

 

Now, it seemed to her, that Ren’s face was well suited for smiles. Her cheeks burned at the thought and she chastised herself for such thoughts. She shouldn’t let herself find any appealing factors in this man that what was needed from the poor and gave it to the rich. And yet, she couldn’t help notice the slight indentation of a dimple on his cheek as he said, “You’re welcome.”

 

The couple looked at each other for a moment longer, both somehow reluctant to leave this moment before Lorsan hummed thoughtfully and interrupted it.

 

“Considering the lack of formalities and the simplicity of this union, we can have the wedding tomorrow.” Friar Lorsan smiled.

 

Despite the previous moment they had shared, the Sheriff and Outlaw did not.


	6. Tarda Sensum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank your for your comments and kudos! I appreciate them and they keep me motivated. I'm slowing the pace down a little bit so our love birds can start letting sparks fly.

After getting her fill of food and details about ceremony, Rey stood and excused herself from the table. She stubbornly tried not to look at the Sheriff, still rather stunned by his gift to her even after all she had said to him that one night in her chambers. Then she suddenly remembered that Ren was not his given name. Ben. Did he keep multiple names to keep multiple vulnerabilities in the shadows as she did?

 

Rey dwelled in thought as she left the hall, rubbing the sore spot on her arm under her cote sleeve where a green bruise had formed from the Sheriff grabbing her last night. She remembered the look on his face when she told him that a dog was a dog. Thinking back on that moment and his gift of a piece of his garden made her eat her words, and perhaps that is why he did. Rey wanted to believe that was why he did it. He wanted to prove her wrong and maybe even naive. Yet, somehow she just couldn’t get herself to believe it as the truth. That damned smile, however small, told her he had done perhaps in the spur of the moment.

 

Amidst her thoughts, Rey had ended up in the gardens behind the kitchens. Herbs and vegetables grew in designated plots, a youthful green in the early light of the morning. Rey went over to the small flower bed the servants had designated as her little square of death. She knelt down and adjusted her skirts around her as she looked at the weed thriving in her plot.

 

“Good things do not grow in bitter soil.”

 

Rey jumped at the sudden onslaught of wisdom breaking the silence. “Friar Lorsan.” She looked up at the grizzled old man. His kind eyes rested on her patiently as she stood.

 

A silence fell upon the garden again, although this one felt a bit more awkward. To break it, Rey asked the first thing that popped up in her head. “You never did say if we’d survive our marriage.” She was grudgingly curious about his perspective; the root of the reason, she could not say.

 

Lorsan smiled. “I am not sure yet. You both hide things in the shadows.”

 

Rey furrowed her brow, panic striking through her. Did he know somehow? Would he snitch? What did Ren have to hide? “I don’t quite understand.”

 

“No, my lady. It is because you are young. While I sense your intuition is strong, there are things that only come with age and time that you have yet to experience I believe.”

 

Her nerves quieted in reassurance as she realized he was taking the stance as an older human being observing younger folk. “How is Ren hiding something?”

 

The Friar seemed to regard her in a new light as he tilted his head. “The Sheriff wears the very feeble mask of man. What lays behind it, I could not say. It’s been decades since I’ve seen Ben.”

 

“Wait, you just called him-”

 

“Yes. Lord Ben Organa. I knew him when he was a boy. By strange coincidence, I find myself the Friar of another Shire he is in. Why are you looking at me like that?”

 

“I can’t imagine him like a boy.” Rey admitted with something short of a grin.

 

Lorsan gave a humorous snort. “Just think of him shorter and with bigger ears. And no scarring on his face.”

 

The way the Friar spoke about the cut on the Ren’s face made Rey pursed her lips and looked down at the ground, not sure if she should feel shame for giving the Sheriff something to remember the outlaws by. 

 

“There you are.” Luke said as he came out of the kitchens and into the garden. “I apologize for interrupting, Friar, but I need to speak with my ward for a moment.”

 

Friar Lorsan nodded with a knowing look. “I will go inside.” He walked back the way Luke had just came.

 

Rey looked at her guardian curiously. “What is it?”

 

“You know how you promised you would be cordial?” Luke asked but didn’t wait for an answer. Clever man to continue before she could argue. “I need you to be a bit more than cordial for the rest of the day.”

 

* * *

 

Rey cleared her throat again, more impatient and louder than the first time. Ren turned away from the hearth to her with an expectant look.

 

“Are you coming or not?” She asked. Luke had requested that the pair of them ride through Nottingham to cement the rumors of their engagement after breakfast as well as continue to ride around the lands to get to know each other, hence his talk to her on the sidelines before she could poke the bear. The Friar had agreed and the older men had said something or other as it being a quick taste of what a full courtship could have been.

 

The Sheriff regarded her for a moment as his eyes roved over her. “You don’t look like you’ve got much sleep last night. Are you sure you can ride?”

 

If that question had been paired with the one from earlier about the dirt under her nails, Rey would have known he was suspicious of her. Even now, she could sense traces of his wariness whether out of habit or actual thought, she did not know.

 

“The storm. The thunder. It woke me up and I couldn’t fall asleep for a while.” That was mostly a lie. Somehow, the rolling sounds of thunder soothed Rey. It made her feel small, and thus, her problems smaller.

 

“Scared, were you?”

 

She frowned instantly at his implication. Rey wasn’t a poor maid scared of loud noises and flashing lights. There were others things far more fearsome to her. “No.” She spoke stubbornly and it annoyingly lit some amused light in his eyes, as if he didn’t believe her. 

 

“Well, I can still ride better than you just fine with little sleep.” Rey turned and left the main hall, going for the stables where Finn had already saddled up her horse and probably had gossiped to it all morning. She didn’t ask the Sheriff to come join her again, the message clear in her actions: move or be left behind. The Lady Kira could declare her engagement by herself.

 

It didn’t take much for her betrothed to catch up with her in the courtyard. Rey added it all up to his advantage of having longer legs. As they approached the stables, Rey gave Finn a look to keep quiet because she didn’t need her friend’s voice to be recognized with it being so soon after last night. They mounted their horses silently, Ren trying to help Rey up on hers but her feet were already in the stirrups before he could lay a hand on her. He nodded after a moment and gave her horse’s side a pat before she trotted out of the courtyard’s walls and onto the road, Ren following close behind after getting on his own. He came to ride beside her and they soothed their beasts’ pace to a comfortable walk so they could chat with the villagers.

 

If they had done this two days earlier, Rey would have waited until a substantially sized mud puddle came by before shoving the Sheriff out of his saddle into said puddle. But, despite the previous night’s generous rains, Rey found that she didn’t have the desire to do that to him. At the moment, anyway. The gift of his garden and his small smile from earlier was perplexing her still. A light blush was still on the verge of invading her cheeks if she thought about his smile and the shape of his lips too much.

 

Not many villagers paused to chat. They watched with weathered eyes as Lady Kira and Sheriff Ren passed through Nottingham. Their looks would be filled with empathy, pity, or even hate when Rey met their gazes. Rey looked at her fiance and saw that he stared straight forward, ignoring the quiet spite the people he was supposed to be protecting gave him. There were dark circles around his eyes and his skin took on a paler pallor under the overcast sky. 

 

“Did you not get enough sleep either last night?” She asked, knowing the answer already but trying to worm her image of innocence into his mind.

 

He looked sidelong at her before answering. “You heard from the Friar that I got...tied up with the Hood last night. The Friar barely found us and hour or so before dawn, shivering. So you could say the storm kept me up too.”

 

“Why were you in Sherwood anyway?”

 

“I was trying to escort Friar Hug- Hux and his grain through the forest in case those outlaws decided to make an appearance again. It seemed my hunch had been correct.”

 

Rey had stopped her horse at the edge of the village, her brow furrowed. The Sheriff’s horse went a few more paces ahead before Ren stopped her and turned the mare around to look at Rey. “Is something the matter?”

 

“ _ His _ grain?”

 

“The church’s grain.” He corrected.

 

“Do you really believe that?” Her knuckles were white as she clutched the reins. She was having a hard time being cordial and keeping a cool head even though she had been the one to bring up this topic.

 

Ren blinked. “It doesn’t matter what I believe. It is- was owed to the church.”

 

“They worked hard for that grain so they could have food.” Rey pointed behind her vaguely to the village. “All that work so the church could only take it from them.”

 

“That makes it all the worse that the Hood stole it for themselves, doesn’t it? You seem to idolize the wrong group, my lady.” Ren nudged his horse forward until his right leg almost brushed her left.

 

Rey inhaled sharply, trying to catch her tongue before she said something that she would regret and doom herself to a life living in the greenwood. Not that it would be that bad. It would be fine until Gisborne took control over the shire if Luke had an untimely demise. Ren didn’t have the resources to nor the name Longstride to take the lands from his uncle. Gisborne had money and King John would favor the weight of gold. This legal union between Rey and Ren would guarantee that Nottingham would stay out of Snoke’s control if for just another generation.

 

“I idolize action, Sheriff. If you won’t act to protect the people, the people will have to act in your stead.” She finally managed to say without as much venom that would’ve been spat moments earlier.

 

Ren’s lips parted in surprise at her words. He seemed absolutely starstruck to have been accused of inaction. Rey didn’t want to hear anything on how his collecting taxes forcefully had been a way to protect the people. What he had done had been cruel and even a little garden wasn’t enough to change that despite Rey’s appreciation of the gesture. When the Sheriff’s home became hers as well, Rey had plans to turn it around into a place of welcome.

 

Before Ren could utter a protest, she urged her horse to canter away from the village, past the fields. Only until she reached the treeline of the woods did she slow to a trot. A quick glance behind her told that Ren had followed her at a distance. She didn’t wait for him and entered the forest.

 

Not ten paces in was she halted by a serf running down the road, muddy up to his breeches. “My lady! The rains filled one of the ditches and a sheep and her lamb have gotten stuck in the mud.”

 

“Lead the way.” Rey spoke and the serf took her down the road around the bend where a good sized mud pool had formed with three men including the serf surrounding it. They couldn’t get to the animals because they’d back themselves up against a rise that was too high to grab them from. The sheep and lamb were struggling to keep their heads above water. The lamb was having the most trouble and it wouldn’t last much longer. 

 

One of the men tossed a rope with a loop made out of the end to try to catch the lamb’s neck. Luckily, the missed. 

 

“Stop or you’ll strangle the poor thing before it gets back to solid ground.” Rey chastised as she swiftly dismounted and grabbed a stick from who she recognized as the shepherd. She inwardly cursed her skirts as she gathered them and slowly began to edge her way to the mud pool, using the stick as a guide for dry spots in the mud.

 

“Kira.” Ren sounded exasperated when he arrived at a trot to see her trying to make her way to the lamb. 

 

Rey ignored him and pressed forward. The lamb was about to sink under again and it gave one last attempt to stay up. Then it began to sink.

 

“Kira!”

 

Rey surged forward to the lamb and fell into the mud hole. The thick water came up to her neck as she reached out and grabbed the lamb with both hands. She hauled it to herself and brought it above the water level. It struggled and bleated despite being covered in thick mud. She sighed with relief and tried to turn but found that her feet were stuck. They’d sunk and gotten caked in the sticky mud at the bottom of the mud hole. Ren was at the edge of the hole closest to her, the rope looped around a shoulder and his chest.

 

“I can’t move me legs.” Rey sighed in defeat. He didn’t verbally reply. Instead, he moved cautiously into the water hole until he sunk to the bottom too. Except, the waterline barely reached his shoulders. He moved almost effortlessly as he came towards her. She moved the kicking lamb over into his arms and he turned and brought it back to shore. The shepherd quickly caught the shivering little beast as Ren came back towards Rey.

 

“Thank you.” She smiled as she believed that he was going to get her next. It waned when he continued to move past her, to the sheep still struggling behind her. Rey craned her neck to watch him pick up the sheep and bring it back to solid ground, mud splattering her further as he passed with the kicking beast.

 

He turned when it got to its feet back on land. Rey raised a brow. “Is it my turn now?”

 

She swore she could see the smile in his dark brown eyes as he moved back to her. And somehow it was pleasing to know that she had that effect on the brooding man. Every step made her heart rate go higher until he was standing next to her in the mud. By that time, her chest was thundering in nervous waves. He leaned down and Rey put her arms around his neck as he waited. 

 

One of his muscular arms found itself at the small of her back while the other traced down her backside. The movement was slow enough for Rey to understand that it was deliberate as his other arm moved from her back, down her buttocks, and slowly down the back of her thighs until he found the bend behind her knees. Despite the cold mud, Rey felt like she was on fire because of this man. Her gaze raised to meet his and she found that the smile in his eyes had gone. In its place was that ill hidden hunger. That look suited his handsome face as well. Anything but the brooding made his attractive qualities shine, she mused. 

 

His hand cupped around her legs and he pulled her out of the place she’d been stuck with a loud suctiony noise. Even though it was only seconds, it felt like eternity as he moved with her in his arms. Their eyes were locked for fewer seconds, Rey looking away slightly out of bashfulness and slightly out of determination not to get seduced by the Sheriff’s gaze. She should be outraged with how he had touched her in the muddy waters and yet anger wasn’t present in that moment. 

 

As Ren set her on the ground, Rey realized what the name to the feeling she had felt strike through her. It was similar to what she had felt when he had been shirtless in her chambers. Desire.

 

She rolled away from the edge of the water, further onto solid ground and looked at her betrothed. “Thank you.” She huffed. The small smile returned to his eyes as he was pulled out of the mud by the rope. “You idolize action, right?” His tone was light but Rey could hear the hurt masked behind it. She had really struck a chord in him earlier, she realized.

 

“My lady.” The serf spoke up. “Your, er, legs.”

 

Rey looked up at the men, all who were avoiding to look at her and then back to her dress. It had hiked up onto her thighs, baring the back of her legs to the world. She quickly stood and moved the fabric back into place to cover herself. Looking back at the Sheriff, she saw him look away from her too late and new he had been ogling at her pale limbs. 

  
Again, Rey did not find anger at his peeping. Instead, she felt something akin to that of satisfaction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always loved. Thanks for reading!


	7. Tres Corvi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here I am again with another update just in time for Valentine's Day. A clue? No. ;) 
> 
> A chapter where we get to see things from the Sheriff's perspective. More of this for future chapters too. ;)

To say the big day was going to be a joyous one felt like an overstatement. The people hardly reacted in a positive manner the day before when Ben and Kira road through the village. It didn’t matter what they felt though, so long as they knew and that they would witness their vows later so Gisborne could not claim their pairing to be a falsehood.

 

Honestly, Ben didn’t understand why his uncle had insisted on the marriage when he could have merely named him as his heir. Perhaps Gisborne would try to take the lands from him if he inherited them in such a way, but Ben was sure he could fend off the beast. His uncle clearly thought otherwise and was trying to ensure the safety of their lands with a church approved marriage; an approval that wavered when he had told Lorsan that he claimed Kira was like a daughter. Marriage between family members was defined as unholy and Lorsan was amiable to their case when he explained that to them and said he would not relay what Longstride had said to any bishop. The Friar asserted that claiming Kira as Luke’s ward and claim her like a niece because of the marriage to Ben later would be better. Luke hadn’t revealed Kira’s lowborn identity to the Friar for the sake of the union being approved. He’d also made his lands Kira’s dowry, something almost out of this world but binded the family lands to Ben nonetheless.

 

This was all a political mess plagued by fear of old vengeance vows. Ben scowled at his distorted reflection in the shined metal plate he used as a mirror mounted on his wall. The scar looked even more garish against the iron. Pink skin was already beginning to form along the scab and it itched immensely. It took a lot of self control from scratching the wound raw and bleeding once more. Just looking at it raised his blood pressure and Ben had to look away from the hazy mirror before all he saw was red. 

 

Twice. Not once, but twice Robin of the Hood escaped his grasp. What was worst that this past time of observing the outlaw on that gloomy night had told him this man couldn’t be much more than a mere lad. Perhaps that was why the other outlaws seemed so amused if not because they’d tied up the uncharitable Friar and Sheriff. The Sheriff and his men had been outdone by some boy. It was appalling!

 

A knock came from the door of his chambers. “Ser?”

 

“Come in, Gwen.” Ben composed himself before turning to the door as it opened, revealing his right hand man. Well, woman. Lady Gwen Phasma was a warrior if Ben ever knew one. While it wasn’t approved of, he had accepted her as one of his operatives to help him keep this bloody shire in order. He probably should have brought her on the night the Hood stole the grain and wagons because it could have turned out to be a whole other story.

 

“The sun is beginning to set, ser. Lord Longstride has sent a boy to ask you to come to Longstride Manor.” Gwen stood at attention, slightly taller than Ben himself. A fact that was slightly intimidating.

 

Ben nodded. “I hadn’t noticed, thank you. I’ll finish getting ready and be on my way soon.”

 

“I’ll have your horse readied.” Gwen inclined her head respectfully before spinning on her heel and leaving Ben alone once more.

 

Ben looked back at the mirror and saw the weary expression on his face. He wasn’t completely sure but he could make a well grounded guess that this would be a constant face he’d wear if Kira remained sharp-tongued in their marriage. It’d been annoying at first because she challenged him with ease but Ben couldn’t be sure he was willing to continue to verbally sparring for the rest of their lives.

 

His mind drifted to the day before, in the mud hole. A smile creased his eyes then as he remembered how quiet she’d gotten in his arms. Perhaps it’d be a method to get her to stop talking in the future. She was fair when her mouth wasn’t opened. Ben had thought as much the first time he’d met her. Her quick wit had quickly soured him towards her as she kept insisting he was some sort of enemy to the people with his actions. Kira was too naive to see the bigger picture.

 

Still, he had found himself thinking about her at different times of day in a fanciful light. Aye, she was fair. How long would that keep his fancy for her, Ben could only wonder.

 

* * *

 

 

A field of grass near the manor had been set up as if for festivities. Barrels of mead and bonfire with a pig on a spit promised to fill bellies. Ben was sure that was what drew the villagers in. Everyone was there, chatting excitedly. Obviously, they’d have to wait after the ceremony before digging into Longstride’s charity. Ben narrowed his eyes. Luke had said he’d been running dry for months in terms of coin. He wasn’t sure if his uncle had lied to him about the amount of taxes he’d been refusing to give or if somehow a pig and a few barrels of liquor had appeared out of nowhere without expense.

 

He wouldn’t dwell on it and find out the truth, not tonight. Ben didn’t need another reason for Kira to point a finger in his face and blame him like he was some devil.

 

For once, as Ben walked through the crowds, no one visibly shrank away. He was half the reason they’d be fed tonight and fed well. Ben noted another fire being started with a cauldron for stew. His uncle really was going all out with the food.

 

“Nephew!” Speak of the devil. Ben turned to look at his uncle approach. Luke looked him over and place a friendly hand on Ben’s shoulder. “At least you dressed properly and bathed.”

 

Ben had dressed properly for this life-changing event if not for a specific someone. He’d abandoned his arm guards but wore a closed white jerkin, clean dark trousers, and his boots cleaned of the mud from the previous day. His long sword had been left at his home, although there was a knife concealed in his boot. If someone decided to express their hate with a blade on a night that was supposed to be merry, they could try.

 

“Is that so shocking?” The Sheriff asked with a raised brow. 

 

Luke seemed to think on that. “I forget that even though you two are so alike, you do not have Kira’s temperament exactly.”

 

Ben blinked, processing what his uncle had said. “You think we’re alike?”

 

“That’s the reason you two get on each other’s nerves so easily, is it not?” Longstride’s eyes gleamed with humor. Old men and their wise ass words. But Ben didn’t express his sarcasm out loud. His uncle could still swing a sword for all he knew.

 

It occurred to him that Ben wasn’t the only one needed for the wedding and he looked amongst the crowd of those gathered. “She’ll be here shortly. Somehow, women are cursed with taking longer time to prepare.” Luke said when he saw his nephew searching. “You should go to the altar over there. You’ll wed there, before everyone and Knottingham will be safe.”

 

Ben gave his uncle a measured look of surprise. “You think it’ll be safe? With us?”

 

“You are better than Gisborne.”

 

“Not many would agree.”

 

“They would, with time.”

 

“With time.” Ben almost mocked, thinking specifically of one person who’d doubtfully agree with Longstride. She had been so adamantly against him, Ben believed her to be one of many in the village who praised the outlaws for their villainy.

 

Luke gave him a ‘you’ll see’ kind of look before turning away, leaving the Sheriff to make his way to the altar and wait for his bride. He didn’t have to wait long.

 

The sun was still above the horizon when the crowd grew hushed and parted as someone made their way through. It was a slow enough procession that Ben started to feel a fluttery feeling in his gullet. The feeling was persistent and it didn’t take long for him to realize that he was actually nervous about what was about to happen. His experience with women were very limited because of inane awkwardness he seemed to have gained from his father, or so his mother said. And here he was, about to be married with a lack of courtship and love. It wasn’t devastating, just knee-weakening. Only when the crowd parted nearest Ben did he see the subject of the solemn quiet. 

 

If ogling was a sin, Ben was damned to hell.

 

Kira wore a similarly pale bliaut to his jerkin. The neck was trimmed with gold threaded patterns and a matching ceinture cinched her waist before her robes bellowed around her as she approached him. Her movements were tight and limited. It explained the slow procession. The dress must must be incredibly tight. To top off the wedding look, Kira wore a crown of lavender and daisies. She was beautiful.

 

And her eyes. They were focused on him with a burning determination that further proved his hunch about the dress. She was crossing mountains right now and he was at the end of the path. It made his lips twitch momentarily with mirth. Kira caught the movement and wrinkled her nose at him in disgust, her expression hidden to everyone behind her as she made the final steps up to him.

 

They stood across from each other under the altar. Where his pale clothing made his skin look like it had more color, Kira looked terribly pink. Luckily, marriages weren’t too hard as everyone began to crowd around them at a respectful distance.

 

There were no official words for marriage, just the voices of two people consenting to each other. So, gathering his wits, Ben improvised. “I, Ben Strod, do ask you, Kira-” He stopped, finding himself at an utter loss at to what the lady’s surname was.

 

“Locksley.” She barely wheezed. Ben quirked a brow. Kira returned it with a look, daring him to prolong her suffering. Perhaps there would be fun little moments such as this in the future.

 

Ben held back a smile. “Kira Locksley, would you consent to have me as your husband as I consent to have you as my wife for long as I live?”

 

“I consent to having you, Ben Strod, as my husband for long as I live.” Kira managed to reply loud enough for most to hear.

 

And that was that. They were married.

 

Luke stepped forward then before the pair could retreat from the altar and gave them each an iron ring. A wed for each of them. He nodded to them both before stepping back.

 

Ben looked at the small band in his palm before looking at Kira. Despite her condition, she seemed to be in awe of the ring in her hand. Gently, he took her right hand and placed the ring on her ring finger. He noted the warmth of her hands as she took his right in both of hers, dwarfing them. With surprising steadiness, Kira placed his ring on his right ring finger.

 

Then their eyes met and the weight of the deed they’d just committed seemed to weigh on their shoulders simultaneously. Kira was looking at him with that strange lightness from the day before, after the mud incident. It wasn’t antagonistic but it wasn’t entirely fond either. It was curious and hopeful maybe. Ben felt that a similar expression was being mirrored by his own eyes.

 

“Now that that’s through, let’s eat!” Luke proclaimed and a roaring cheer overtook the crowd as they migrated away from the altar to the bonfires. Already, there was a little band of musicians forming, playing a jolly tune.

 

By now the sun was about disappear under the treeline and Kira didn’t look any less pink.

 

“Do you want to stay?” Ben asked. He did so awkwardly because he usually never attended festivities in the village as he wasn’t always welcomed and he didn’t really want to stay at this one, despite its purpose. Kira didn’t have to go with him, but considering they were married now, he thought it’d be best if he asked her.

 

Kira shook her head almost immediately. “I need to get this wretched dress off.”

 

If he were a lesser man of a basic mind, Ben would have taken that as an invitation. He tried to clear his head of such thoughts, though knowing that now being wed, it was a possibility. It clearly wasn’t an invitation, as she was suffering and barely breathing. Her face had even grown a shade darker to red.

 

“I have my horse just a bit away. Let me go get her and we can go back home.”

 

“Home?” She asked, puzzled. Ben didn’t reply. He just watched realization dawn on her features.

 

“Right.” She amended.

 

“Right.” He left her after saying that and went to get his horse.

 

She was swaying when he came back for her and could hardly pull herself up on the beast. Ben had to pull her up ungracefully into his lap and the pair road off from party, unnoticed. It was better than teasing remarks being shouted after them. Ben didn’t need wanton thoughts to summon something Kira would feel under her thighs.

 

When they were in the darkness and away from prying eyes, Ben blindly attacked the laces on Kira’s back. She started to protest at first until he found his dagger and cut some of the string. He resheathed the dagger in his boot and begin loosening them so she could breathe.

 

When they made it to his house, Ben handed over his horse to his stable boy after helping Kira down from the mare. She was leaning heavily against one of the stable posts, as if she still didn’t have enough air.

 

“Are you alright?” Ben came up next to her. She glanced up at him and nodded, blinking rapidly afterwards. “Yes, just a bit dizzy. It’ll clear soon.” Kira tried to wave him away nonchalantly but he stayed put.

 

He watched her for a few moments before she decided that she was ready to walk. Kira took one step and her knees buckled from under her. She would have hit the ground had Ben not been waiting for her to fall. He caught her in his arms and their faces were once again close to each other as they had been the previous day in the mudhole.

 

Her eyes were glazed and dark in the low light as she looked up at him, flower crown eskew on her pretty head. “Thank you.”

 

The same first kind words she’d ever said to the Sheriff and it stirred something warm inside him. On impulse, Ben gathered her into his arms and swept her off her feet. She made a small noise of surprise and clung to his neck which stirred something else in him. Her warm breath on his neck was making his thoughts muddle as he walked inside.

 

Kira didn’t complain nor did she move her head from the crook of his neck as Ben carried her to his chambers. Only once inside, the door closed behind them, did he set her down near the bed in the dark.

 

“Don’t you have a candle or a lantern?” She whispered and Ben could hear the nervousness in her voice. So long as it wasn’t fear, he would stay. He had no intention of making her fear him, even if she was able to get on his nerves.

 

Ben moved expertly in the dark, knowing his chambers like the back of his hand. He found the flint and steel on his desk and moved to the center of the room where there was a brazier near the foot of his bed, meant to keep his room warm in the winter. It didn’t take long to get a flame to catch and Ben fed the growing fire until a soft glow filled the room, not needing the full heat.

 

In the low light, he could now make out Kira easily, still standing where he had left her. At least she was standing. She had removed her flower crown and had set on the edge of the bed. Her eyes were on him, big and nervous like a doe when it caught a whiff of the musk of a hunter.

 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” It would be better to talk. To distract. Anything to deter from what his baser needs were wanting to do with his new bride. It wouldn’t be unusual. Sex was a language between lovers. And that was just the thing. They weren’t lovers. Not yet anyway, something in him hoped.

 

“Are we not supposed to…” She trailed off, letting Ben fill in the blanks mentally.

 

“We don’t have to.”

 

That seemed to astonish her.

 

Her innocence drew a question to mind. “How old are you?”

 

“Nineteen.”

 

His eyebrows rose a bit. Ten years difference.

 

“How old are you?” She seemed to be regaining her old boldness. Good. 

 

“Nearly thirty.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Oh?” It wasn’t odd for an older man to marry a younger woman.

 

“You don’t look it.”

 

Oh. Ben took it as a compliment. He took a step toward her and watched her barely step back.

 

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

 

“Even though you want to?” She looked confused.

 

Ben frowned inwardly. Was it so obvious? He wasn’t going to risk looking down to see. “I’m not going to force myself on you.”

 

Her shoulders relaxed a bit and she looked away for a moment. “What about things that I want to do?”

 

“We can do this all at your pace. I can be patient.” Well, a little patient. “Was there something you wanted to do?” He asked curiously, trying to give her room to open up. No need in scaring away the doe.

 

Even in the soft glow of the brazier, Ben could make out the color rising in her cheeks. “I’ve never kissed anyone.” She blurted. It hung in silence afterwards as Ben stared at her, bewildered.

 

Kira looked at him sharply then. “Why is that so shocking?”

 

“I-I would never have guessed.” Ben admitted.

 

“Oh.” Her anger died.

 

Moments ticked by with Ben not knowing what to do as he watched her process her feelings like an open book. It was such a vulnerable thing to witness that he had drawn closer to her slowly until they stood in front of each other. Kira didn’t move away this time, just watched him with uncertain eyes.

 

Gradually, he moved his right hand to find her left, intertwining their fingers slowly without breaking eye contact, waiting for her to tell him to stop. He nearly jumped when her right hand found his left and she weaved their fingers together of her own accord.

 

“May I kiss you?” He asked, his head already leaning down to hers like a magnet.

 

“I thought you said you were patient.” Her tone was lighter, teasing even. It tugged a smile on his lips, making him feel the scar on his face stretch. 

 

And, sweet Mary, she smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The change to Ben's last name was to keep with the English-y old times names. Strod sounded just as bold as Solo mehopes. 
> 
> And yes. I'm sorry. Y'all have to wait once more for the steamy bits. Forgive me.
> 
> Marriages in the 12th century weren't as huge as they are today, hence how some of you may feel it to be anti-climatic. People literally got married outside pubs or friend's homes and just said they were married and had witnesses to confirm it and that was that.


	8. Incitatus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not tricked you this time, lovelies! The waiting is over. There are steamy bits and I placed a line break to let those who don't want to read such that the scene begins. Thank you again for all your comments and kudos! Enjoy!

Rey was horribly sweaty. Underneath her dress was a layer of sweat from the combination of the exertion of trying to breathe earlier that night as well as this moment, now. A man stood before Rey and not just any man, her husband. A man that could technically do as he pleased like he did as Sheriff of Nottingham and yet, here he was hovering above her with a smile that made her insides do flips. She couldn’t help but smile back to hide her nervousness.

 

This was something she’d never encountered before. Rey almost rather prefered facing down a boar with her bow to this because she knew nothing. Even Rose had kissed plenty of boys. Rey hadn’t. She’d always scared them off with her callused fingers and sharp tongue.

 

Strangely, this man was still standing before her, having requested to taste the lips of his wife so softly, it made Rey doubt his dark character. Aye, the things he’d done as Sheriff were not right but somehow, in this room alone, something else was defining him. A human being that was lonely. That was what she had seen his eyes the night in her chambers. The same thing she felt at times.

 

It was shocking to find a kindred spirit in the form of whom she’d believed to be her enemy, a man that had shown kindness to her even after her sharp words. Things were not quite so black and white as she had initially perceived. 

 

His smile had faded and his mouth was opening, no doubt to ask once more for her permission. If she let him speak, Rey would have to process his question all over again and it would be too dizzying to mull over it all again. So instead, she shot up on her tippy toes and kissed him. Or at least tried to. Her lips barely grazed the corner of his mouth. Back on the flats of her feet, Rey felt heat rush through her head in embarrassment.

 

Ren was looking down at her with an unreadable expression. Doubt and dread flooded Rey and she wished she could disappear right then and there.

 

Then slowly and ever surely, his lips perked upwards. Rey was sure her face was blooming red considering how hot she felt. It didn’t help her sweaty situation either. 

 

“You missed.”

 

Rey scowled. So he would tease her over her greenhorn mistake? The quick response of anger made her straighten herself, keenly aware that their hands were still entwined. “I never miss.” His thumbs began to caress the sides of her hands and Rey blinked, trying to will the feeling of little flaming paths along her skin away. This was definitely something she’d not encountered before.

 

Ren was plainly amused. “Where would your mark be this next time?” His voice had taken a low tone that stirred heat between Rey’s legs. That didn’t help her feel not-sweaty at all. Her hands must be clammy in his. If they were, he didn’t seem to notice or be disturbed.

 

“W-who said there would be a next time?” She was having a hard time masking the fact that she was flustered by him.

 

“Can there be a next time?”

 

His considerate questions still puzzled her and yet drew her more to him, to this gray area. What would her friends think of their leader being enraptured by their enemy? She thought to pull away, to prolong the desire that had been so recently been building up. She didn’t. Rey took a step towards the line of no turning back and answered his question. This time, gently.

 

This time, he met her halfway. Her lips met his and her eyes closed instinctively. And when she thought that was it, his mouth started to move over hers. It was like her mind exploded when she felt his tongue lav over her lips. She opened her mouth to his and gasped when he took the invitation. The kiss was long and it made Rey’s head go blank as she focused on it, trying to give back just as much as he gave. His hands were no longer in hers, one tangled in her hair and the other securely placed on her rump.

 

Suddenly, she was tipping backwards onto the mattress, crushing the flower crown under her. Ren followed after her, barely breaking the kiss as his weight rested above her, one leg in between her own. She could feel him hard against her thigh and a thrill shot through her that she could make a man desire her. It gave her a surge of boldness and Rey began to explore Ren’s mouth, eliciting a groan of appreciation from him as his hands began to wander, leaving trails of heat in their wake even over the layers of dress. 

 

Her hands were entwined with his once more as he drew them up above her head and then pinned them together at her wrists. Rey’s breath hitched and she broke the kiss, the yellowed bruise still somewhat sore from when he had gripped her harshly when she’d been Robin.

 

Ren drew back enough to observe her face, worry in his eyes. “Are you alright?”

 

It all came back to her, the self-consciousness. Rey didn’t feel ready. Not like this. She felt gross from the sweat and was sure it would start to smell. Anything. Anything to prolong this.

 

“I need a bath.”

 

His eyebrows shot up. “At this time of night?” It seemed the only logical thing to ask with the way he said it, her arms still pinned above her head with one of his hands.

 

Rey nodded. “Please. I just- please.”

 

Ren watched her for a moment before sighing through his nose and his weight was lifted off of her. “Alright.” He helped her up and the disheveled pair made their way through the dark halls of the house. Ren seemed to know the way, guiding Rey with their joined hands.

 

They sat in the wash room as they waited for the water to boil and then cool enough once it was in the tub. Ren had seemed both relieved and irked that she hadn’t requested cold water. Hot water would take longer to prepare.

 

Once it was ready, Ren gave her rose petals to soak in the tub. She watched them swirl in the steaming tub before turning to him.

 

“Do you want me to go?” He seemed as if he didn’t want to ask the question. She knew he didn’t want to go. Despite her nervousness, Rey shook her head. Sooner or later, he would see her. They were married.

 

* * *

 

The Sheriff stood there as he watched her start to undress. She managed easily with the laces cut at the back of her overdress. More layers came off over her head until she was just in her thin chemise. Only then, did Rey pause and look over to her husband. She noticed he struggled to meet her gaze for a second, his eyes wandering over her frame that could be seen through the thin dress in the hearth’s light. It brought a smile on her face.

 

For a second moment, Rey felt bold. She took off her chemise, tossing it to the side before meeting Ren’s gaze once more. His lips had parted and he looked at her in utter awe, his eyes roaming freely. 

 

“Join me?” The words left her mouth before she could comprehend them. His reaction to her nudity had made her even more bold. Ren’s eyes met hers and he took a cautionary step forward, as if worried she’d step away again. Not now. Rey had toed the line and had finally crossed it before she’d even got in the bath. So much for planning to prolong what seemed to be inevitable.

 

His walk to her was slow and unsure until he was standing before her. He raised a hand and paused, looking at her with a question in his eyes. Rey nodded, her heart beating loudly in her chest. It was warm on her bare shoulder, rough calluses against her smooth skin. It traveled down to her breast and Rey’s breathing hitched once more. Ren watched as he pulled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Her eyes fluttered at the sensation and liquid heat pooled at her core.

 

Rey’s hands flew to his jerkin, trying to tug it off. He laughed, low and breathy, as he helped her undress himself. Shirtless, Rey pressed herself against him and they met halfway once more for a heated kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck, a hand raking through his dark hair as his own arms went about their own business. He traced her curves and grabbed at her buttocks, kneading the firm muscle with a groan on approval.

 

Rey broke the kiss when he pressed her against the wood tub, remembering the reason why they were there in the first place. “We probably shouldn’t waste the hot water.”

 

“Probably.” He agreed, his breathing labored from their make out session. Before they could get in the tub though, one last thing needed to be addressed. Rey’s hands traveled lightly down his torso to the line of his trousers. They hung low like the one night in her chambers with a trail of hair that led under, showcasing off his hips and a well-sized bulge begging to be let out. Rey untied his trousers and they fell to give way to his manhood.

 

The sight was mesmerizing and strange all at once. But Ren didn’t seem to care for it as much as another matter. His hand found her wrist where he thumbed the yellow bruise gently. “What happened?”

 

Rey’s mind raced for an explanation as she looked up at him. “It got caught between my horse and the stables a while back when I was reaching for something.” She hoped he bought it because being discovered as Robin Hood while naked before the Sheriff was not how she’d ever imagined it to happen. Her pulse was quick and nervous as he brought her wrist closer to his face as if for inspection. 

 

To her surprise, he placed a gentle kiss on it. A shuddering sigh of relief escaped her. He took it as desire and found herself suddenly in his arms, his hands underneath her thighs and the warm wetness of her womanhood pressed against his throbbing member. The action made her flush with desire and she kissed him again to distract from the bruise and the anxiety that it had caused. He stepped over the rim of the tub and lowered them into the warm water.

 

Rey realized that she was on top of him as he sat down, the water level grazing her ribs. He bucked under her weight which made her grind down on instinct. Ren uttered a low growl and his mouth found her neck, kissing her there. She moaned softly at the feeling and ground against him again, evoking more pleasurable noises from her husband as his mouth traveled to her breast. His mouth covered her nipple and Rey gave off a soft cry at the warmth. It turned to pleasure as his tongue played with the bud, teeth grazing it in a way that made Rey rake her nails down his back. When he was satisfied that it was erect enough, he moved onto her other breast. Mewls and other small noises she didn’t know she could make spilled from her throat as she continued to grind against him.

 

She was going to go mad with desire and she wanted him desperately in a way she did not yet understand. Ren seemed to be at the same peak as his hands were under her thighs once more and he lifted her up enough to position himself at her entrance. Rey gripped his shoulders tightly as she nodded her consent. Slowly, he lowered her onto him. Her eyes widened from the sensation of being stretched before she winced from the pain that followed until he was fully sheathed inside of her. His breathing had turned rugged, hands patiently on her hips under the water as they waited for her body to get used to his size.

 

When the pain subsided, Rey moved experimentally. She rolled her hips and Ren groaned. They maintained eye contact as she did it again, slowly.

 

“You’re going to be the death of me.” He grunted when she moved her hips again. Rey took the compliment with a wicked smile. Ren was quick to cover her mouth with his as they began to move against each other, inducing a deep pleasure Rey had never dreamed off. She cried in time with his thrusts, trying to move with her own hips. A coil of tension began to tighten in her lower abdomen as they moved, splashing water over the sides of the tub. The sight was ridiculous and they both laughed at the same time until Ren reached between them and pressed his thumb against the sensitive bud between her legs. Rey’s head went back at the sudden onslaught of pleasure she was receiving, the tension she’d been feeling build up about to break. Ren’s movements were becoming erratic against her own until they were moving without pattern.

 

Rey felt a hot flash of pleasure explode throughout her in her release with a cry and she rode it out desperately, trying to savor this new feeling. Ren followed behind not too long after with a grunt, spilling himself inside of her as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

 

They sat there trying to catch their breath. Ren leaned back against the tub and Rey slumped against his chest, feeling his heartbeat against her breast.

 

“Did you still want the bath?”

 

She could hear the smile in his voice and Rey giggled, sitting up. Rey moved herself off of him so that he was no longer inside of her and sat between his legs in the rose-scented water. She flicked some water at his face playfully. “God knows we need it now.”

 

He was smiling, the scabs of his scar creasing his face. Rey pulled up a hand and traced it carefully, from his brow all the way down to his shoulder. She had really gotten him that night. He hadn’t been wearing any armor, only a shirt. That was probably why she had been able to make such a long gash.

 

“I’m sorry.” Rey whispered and immediately regretted her words. What a fool she was.

 

“It’s not your fault. Outlaws are nasty business.” Ren drew her closer. Mary and Joseph, she was lucky he didn’t have enough dots to connect to make the whole picture. She needed to be more mindful about their interactions. They began to wash each other in silence until Rey cleared her throat.

 

He looked at her expectantly in a relaxed manner. The look made her heart skip a beat because she realized something then. She had seen behind the mask Lorsan said Ren employed. There was no eternal brooding man. Just one sitting before his new wife.

 

Rey found that she had been staring at him with wonder and shook herself out of the daze. “Do you think we can do that again?” She asked, tracing a finger innocently over his chest.

 

“The bathwater is getting cold. Perhaps the bedroom?” Ben grinned.


	9. Aurora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter this time as we start to transition deeper into the story. Things are about to get more juicy. *rubs hands together maliciously*

It had all felt like a dream, to be honest. Ben had thought she’d deny him, given her snappish behavior for the past week. Then again, he never really understood women too well. She had been so bold for someone he perceived as innocent in the wanton ways. It had definitely been a dream when she asked to have a go again. It’d only taken a little time for him to recover for their second round, given the fact that he was so enthralled with how they just fit together. She had responded in an equally yearning manner  to his movements.

 

It had been a dream.

 

And yet, as the soft blue dawn filtered through the large window of his room, opening his eyes confirmed that it hadn’t been a mere fanatasical dream. Rather, he could hear it before seeing it. Kira lay on her back, her arms thrown across her chest and over her head, snoring. Who would have thought such a soft looking person would sound like a small bear?

 

Ben lay there for a while, waiting for the illusion to vanish after each blink as he watched her breasts rise and fall with each breath. The sky was overcast and a morning drizzle began to pour as the sun rose higher, painting Kira in a brighter light. The light from the window seemed to bother her as she turned away from it, consequently towards Ben. The morning was cool and the brazier had died out recently, barely warming their toes. Kira began moving again, seeking warmth from the second best thing: Ben. He turned on his back before she pressed herself flush against him, willing his morning wood to go away.

 

It stayed. Stubbornly. She had a leg thrown over him, her head nestled in his shoulder with her hand on his chest. He was sure she could feel the erratic thundering of his heart as she slowly came to consciousness. Her fingers wiggled and it tickled his chest, as if to feel out her strange new bearings. Slowly, the weight of her head came off of his shoulder and her face came into view. Kira was looking at him drowsy and confused.

 

“Good morning.” Was all Ben could think to say, nervous about how she would react when they both came to the same conclusion.

 

It had most definitely not been a dream.

 

Kira blinked before sitting up, the curve of her back facing him. When she ran her hands through her hair, Ben sighed. Here it came. She would deny him now.

 

“Do husband and wife always share a room?”

 

Her soft question sprang surprise from him. It was far better than being yelled at but her question implied that she may not want to sleep with him, which Ben understood. Bears enjoyed solitary caves. “We don’t have to. There is another room across the hall you may have.”

 

Kira nodded and looked back at him over her shoulder. “I don’t know how to do all this. You’re still a stranger. The Sheriff.”

 

Ben raised his brows. Saying his title must mean she still didn’t approve of him as person. Perhaps she would see his way, now that they were living together. She was a stranger to him as well, he reminded himself. There was no saying that Kira couldn’t be some snake or whiny bitch men whored around to get away from.

 

In his thoughts, his gaze had trailed down her spine, resting now on the rounds of her bottom. Kira cleared her throat, drawing his attention back to her face. She seemed amused. That was better than disgust. Ben finally took it as fact that she didn’t regret their night, married or not. When he was in the Crusades with his father, women hadn’t much like his features. He wasn’t as chiseled as his father. Ben was softer, like his mother.

 

Before he could come up with a response to perhaps ease her more in his company and break the awkward tension, a loud series of knocks erupted against the door of his room. Kira jumped and tugged the sheets up to cover herself, simultaneously pulling them off of Ben, leaving him exposed to the chill of the morning.

 

“Sheriff, you’ve a visitor!” Gwen reported through the door, though she might as well have been standing in the room with her loud tone.

 

Ben didn’t answer right away. Kira was looking at him, or rather the more awake part of him. When their eyes met, there was heat in her gaze, the same as the previous night. Perhaps they were strangers but they were still man and woman, bound in holy matrimony. This could work, if they didn’t remain strangers long. Ben didn’t intend them to be strangers for long.

 

“Ser?” Gwen rapped on the door again.

 

“Alright! I’m up!” Ben snarled at the door, suddenly angry that he wouldn’t have time to do what he was wishing to at that moment. Kira’s shoulders were shaking when she looked away from him. At first he thought he had frightened her, but she was laughing. Perhaps because she understood where his frustration was rooted. His uncle seemed to have been on about them being similar.

 

Forcing a sigh through his nose, Ben sat up and began to dress himself. Best not to let any guest wait. That would be another thing for Nottingham to complain about. “Servants brought some of your things over last night, before we got home.” He told Kira, opening the door to an empty hall and gesturing to the door across his. The Sheriff had assumed his wife would rarely want to sleep with him before she had consented. She nodded, sheets still covering her. 

 

He stared at her for a moment, his mouth open as if to say something. Anything. Nothing. Ben didn’t know what to tell her. He closed his mouth and closed the door behind him, heading downstairs to where the dining room was. It doubled as a place for him to receive visitors since it was nearest to the front door. 

 

When his feet landed on the stone of the bottom floor, Ben got to see who graced his house with their presences. Lord Gisborne and Friar Hux.

 

“Good morning, Sheriff. I trust you slept well?” Gisborne gave a smile that never reached his eyes.

 

“Why are you here, Gisborne?” Ben didn’t answer his question. Gisborne hadn’t been at the festivities last night, as far as Ben knew from what he saw while he had been there in the short span of time. 

 

“You don’t sound like you did.” The lord smirked. “I’ve come to bid you and your new wife well wishes. Good lord, has the marriage already gone foul?”

 

“I beg your pardon?”

 

“Your face wasn’t like that before.”

 

Ben frowned. Gisborne was trying to bait him, already attempting to seed corruption for his gains. “I got this from Robin Hood.”

 

“Ah, yes. When you let the outlaw get away.”

 

Gisborne was toeing a dangerous line as Ben curled his hands into fists behind his back so the lord didn’t see he had gotten a reaction out of him. “Why are you really here?”

 

“I’ve been in conference with King John. I told of the woes his people suffer from his loyal, brutal dog and he has agreed with me that I shall host a competition.” Gisborne began to walk around the dining room, trailing a finger across the wooden table.

 

“A competition for what?”

 

“Why for archery, of course.” Gisborne looked up at him and smiled, clearly pleased with himself. “You see, it has come to my attention recently that these outlaws that call themselves Merry Men of the Hood have grown more bold in the past month. With your lack of ability to catch them, I thought it wise to tease their little heads out.”

 

“With the archery competition. You mean to appeal to Robin Hood’s ego as an archer.” Ben realized.

 

Gisborne’s smile widened. “Very good, Sheriff. There is something in between those ears after all. The prize is a golden arrow, melted from my own coin. We have the cheese and the trap. We now only need the rat.”

 

Ben ignored the insult. “We?”

 

“I am assisting you, good Sheriff!”

 

“That seems an unlikely thing for you to do. Considering I’m related to Lord Longstride.”

 

“The family vengeance? Bygones, I assure you.” Snoke stopped to stand before him.

 

It wasn’t comforting and clearly false. Ben frowned once more. Gisborne did have a clever plan for drawing out Robin though. There’d always been well placed arrows coming from the shadows ever since the Hood had formed in those blasted greenwoods. All those specific arrows were marked with and ‘R’ on the shaft. That had been an influence when Ben had given the outlaw the name Robin. Ben did need the outlaws gone. They were causing problems with the powerful folk and thus making it harder for the poor.

 

Ben rubbed his chin in thought. “When do you plan for this competition to occur?”

 

“In a fortnight’s time. Plenty of time for us to plan and for word to spread in the shire.”

 

Ben nodded. This could work, if they played their cards right. In that moment, he heard Kira descend the stairs. She was in the same green dress he had met her in and it was a lovely color on her. Her hair was pulled back from her face to reveal those pretty cheekbones.

 

“Ah, my little rabbit. How much you have grown.” Gisborne grinned.

 

Kira’s demeanor immediately changed to that familiar spitfire Ben had come to know. Ben looked from her to the lord. His little rabbit? The Sheriff’s brow furrowed with a dangerous glint in his eye as he looked down at Gisborne.

 

“Still clinging to that statement are we?” Kira asked before Ben could speak.

 

Gisborne’s grin didn’t fade as he spoke. “Honestly, my Lady Kira, you were so small as a child. You could have very well been a rabbit. Especially dwelling where you were not supposed to be.”

 

Ben blinked.

 

“You may have convinced yourself of such notions but we both know what happened that day wasn’t a mistake.” Kira crossed her arms.

 

“If it is as you believe so, clearly it was a mistake that I missed.” Gisborne’s smile had faded by now and a crackling tension had been built between the pair. 

 

Ben stepped to the side, blocking Gisborne from his wife. “Is that all you’ve come here for?”

 

Gisborne turned his gaze up to Ben and sniffed. “That and for you to tell our dear Friar here that your marriage isn’t incestuous. He’s heard Lord Longstride claim Lady Kira as a daughter before.”

 

“He raised me like one but I do not share the same blood as this man.” Kira snapped. She seemed riled up still from whatever the conversation she and Gisborne had meant.

 

“You swear this on the name of the Virgin Mary?” Hux demanded.

 

“I do!”

 

“There you have it, Friar. Anything else?” Ben sighed, tiring of the present company of his visitors. They’d only come to stir up trouble. Gisborne didn’t have to come to him to tell him about the archery competition, he could have sent a servant. He expected this of Gisborne but so much from Hux.

 

Hux seemed to glower. A very unholy look for a man of the cloth. “No, that was all.”

 

“Very well. If you’ll be so kind as to leave.” Ben stated bluntly. Gisborne’s lip curled but he nodded before walking out of the house with Hux on his heels.

 

When the door closed behind them, Ben turned to Kira. “What was this about you being Gisborne’s little rabbit?”

 

Kira jutted her chin out defensively. “I wandered onto his lands as a child and he almost shot me with an arrow. When I told Luke, Gisborne told him that he had thought I was a rabbit.”

 

Ben raised a brow, leaning back some as he observed his wife. “A rabbit rather than a doe?”

 

Kira smirked. “I think we both know that Gisborne is horrible when it comes to lying. In any case, I never set foot on his lands again. I hadn’t even seen him since then till today.”

 

The Sheriff snorted in amusement. “Unfortunately, we may be seeing more of him in the direct future.”

 

Her brows furrowed and worry painted her face. “Why?”   
  


“He’s hosting an archery competition to boost the moral of the village.”

 

“Why would a silly competition make everything better?”

 

“Because the prize is a golden arrow, melted from his own coin.”


	10. Consilium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the unannounced hiatus! School comes first and I was stuck with how I wanted to get from point A to point B in this story. But I haven't abandoned it! I've got so many projects going on though so frequency of posts will probably still be lagging compared to earlier this year until the end of April. Thank you again so much for all your comments and kudos! It's another way to get me to continue writing. Enjoy!

“So,” Poe started to pace around the stables again, “you’re telling us that Gisborne is willingly giving up a part of his hoard for the betterment of Nottingham because he suddenly cares?”

 

“Who’s to say Friar Hugs didn’t show him how giving a little sometimes means for a lot to be taken anyway?” Rose spoke wryly, referring to the incident with the grain. Already, there were hints of sprouts and the people of Nottingham were rejoicing and looking forward to a harvest in some four months.

 

Finn raised a thoughtful finger. “That is true. Gisborne wouldn’t be too keen on getting strapped to some oak in the middle of Sherwood. No one would save him.” Snorts of mirth escaped the group as they looked at Rey. She shrugged. “It almost does seem too good to be true.”

 

“You didn’t hear anything while Gisborne was there?” Poe asked.

 

Rey shook her head. “No, I was busy changing and…” She trailed off, remembering how she had inspected her body curiously before changing earlier that morning.

 

Finn was struggling with a grin as he asked, “So, does he have a little john like Poe claims?”

 

Rey felt her face go beet red at the blunt question. She couldn’t manage to say anything in retort, still processing the events from last night. She had actually slept with the Sheriff. Twice. Her friends didn’t need to know that.

 

“Your silence isn’t doing his reputation any better with us.” Poe teased.

 

Rose rolled her eyes and frowned at the boys. “What is it with men and measuring? Can we talk about more important things? Like how that arrow can buy Nottingham more food and seeds for future harvests?”

 

“How do we know that the Sheriff won’t take the arrow, claiming it’s for taxes?” Finn asked.

 

“We bring in the Hood, then. We let Rey do her thing under the guise of Robin Hood, take the arrow fairly, and steal it all the same.” Poe suggested.

 

“Why would we try to win it if we can just steal it?” Rey wrinkled her nose. 

 

Poe stopped pacing and shrugged. “My idea was to piss them off. We win it fairly, they get mad and try to take it as I am sure they will, and then the rest of our merry men emerge to take it by force. It sends a message and we get the arrow.”

 

Finn waved his hands before anyone could reply, centering the attention on himself. “Hold on, hold on. Is this is a trap?” He looked at Rey.

 

“After what Poe said, it sounds like a trap.” Rose stated.

 

Rey nodded. “It most definitely is a trap of sorts. Stealing the grain could have made Hux seek aid from Gisborne as a means of revenge.”

 

“There’s something wrong with that.” Finn said. Rey raised an eyebrow and he continued, “I’m not saying it’s unlikely. It’s very likely. I’m only saying a man of the cloth seeking revenge is wrong. There has to be something in the Bible against it.” 

 

They all looked to Poe who sighed. “I don’t remember! I barely know Latin anymore. But Finn does have a point.”

 

“The morality of our dear old Friar Hugs isn’t new.” Rose inputted before guiding them back on topic. “Golden arrow. It’s a trap. What do we do?”

 

“Since we know, we’re a step ahead in one way. We just don’t know how they intend to trap us beyond perhaps exposing one of the best archers in the world.”

 

“I’m not that good, Finn.” Rey wrinkled her nose at the compliment.

 

“You could hit a butterfly through one wing mid flight. With a longbow, I might add.”

 

The three of them gave Finn a doubtful look before he amended. “Alright, alright. I was exaggerating but don’t sell yourself short. Use your recurve and our chances are that much higher.” Rey nodded then, understanding his view. The recurve didn’t have nearly as much drawing weight as the longbow. Rey enjoyed using the latter recently to build up her back and give herself a challenge.

 

Rose stared at Finn a bit. “You want her to get into the competition.”

 

“I- yeah. Yeah.” Finn admitted. “I know it’s a trap but what if we play them while they try to play us, like how Poe was saying?”

 

“That would still piss them off.” Poe added, obviously on board with the idea. “We just need to know how they will lay out their plan.”

 

“Luckily, we have someone on the inside now.” Finn grinned at Rey. She returned the smile half-heartedly, distracted by all the logical outcomes that could occur if she were to start employing her new position. Seducing Ren wouldn’t be hard given how easily they had caved into each other last night, but it felt...wrong. It made her mad to think that taking advantage of man with a wicked reputation felt wrong to her so suddenly. Earlier this week, she had detested him despite her quiet attractions. She didn’t necessarily like him now and Rey definitely did not love the Sheriff but the idea of deceiving him gave her pause. 

 

She didn’t let her hesitation show as they continued to plot out how they could outsmart the wolves of their town. The next step they needed to get the plan rolling smoothly was for Rey to find out how Gisborne and the Sheriff planned to trap her. For Rey, it felt like the hardest obstacle. Fortunately, there was plenty of time for her to do so once she got past her scruple.

 

“In the meantime, I suggest that the Hood harasses Gisborne and others some until the competition. It gives off the illusion that we know nothing of the trap and are continuing our disruptive activities. Nothing unusual to give off suspicion.” Poe looked at Rey for confirmation.

 

“We should and I’d like to come along when we go after Gisborne.” Rey raised her head to show her determination. Seeing him that morning had rekindled a vengeful tempest and taking what she could from the greedy bastard would be incredibly satisfying. “Since I’m bait anyway when the competition happens, I don’t see how I can’t go to this.”

 

“Wouldn’t the, uh, Sheriff notice your absence?”

 

“He’s agreed to have separate rooms.”

 

That earned a few surprised looks.

 

“Well, if you’re confident about it, then sure. Why not? Let’s throw caution to the wind.” Poe threw up his hands in exasperation before walking off. 

 

Finn chuckled. “Like he’s one to talk, eh?”

 

Rey answered him with a wry smile.

 

* * *

 

She didn’t return to the Sheriff’s house - her house - until later that evening, after supper time. Rey had helped with Rose’s laundry work so as to make it less obvious that her comings and goings were suspiciously for talking with her mates in whispers. That drew suspicion. Trying to take back her mundane life? Expected from most of the staff, all knowing her defiant streak.

 

Her nerves made her stomach feel like there was a sea of worms roiling around as she entered the house. It was quiet and for the most part dark, only a single candle on the dining table was lit. Uncertain shadows danced around the walls. 

 

Rey closed the door as silently as possible and began tiptoeing through the main room.

 

“I didn’t think my company was bad enough for my own wife to avoid me all day.”

 

Rey jumped, hand over her chest as the tall figure of her husband appeared from the shadows. “You scared me.” She admonished, her other hand feeling for one of the wooden chairs around the table for support.

 

He approached her slowly, until the unscarred half of his face was clear in the faint light.

 

“Where are your servants?” Rey asked, realizing how quiet his big house was.

 

“I don’t have servants. I believe a man should be able to make his own dinner and clean his own clothes.” She couldn’t read his expression as he spoke.

 

“Ah.” Rey trailed off, nodding. There was a tension in the air laced with awkwardness, the remnants of earlier that day. It still took her a moment to process the previous night but the ache between her legs told her it had most definitely happened.

 

He took another step towards her. “Why were you gone all day?”

 

“I-I just wanted to have one more day before committing to all this change.” If there had been more light, he would have seen how white her knuckles were from holding onto the back of the chair.

 

Understanding filled his expression. “Ah. And here I thought you were going to leave me to do all the chores from now on.”

 

“I can if that is what you wish.” The cheeky reply slipped before she could think. The awkward air between them faded until there was just the tension.

 

Humor glittered in his eyes. “The roles have switched have they?”

 

Rey gave a smile, not trusting herself with a reply. She had to play the complex game of gaining his trust without getting her feelings muddled.

 

“Have you eaten?”

 

She nodded. He took one more step closer so that her chest brushed his when she took a deep breath. Rey swallowed, her heart thumping rapidly in its cage. She raised her head to look up at him, her eyes resting momentarily on his full lips before flicking up to his dark eyes.

 

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, hands clasping just over her rear. Rey barely stiffened at the touch and it shocked her with how relaxed she was in his arms, her hands resting on his chest. It’d only been one night that they’d known each other biblically. How-

 

Her thoughts were interrupted as he leaned down, slowly once more, to kiss her. Without thinking, she was already rising on her toes to meet him halfway. Their lips barely brushed against each other before they were caving into each other, mouths moving in a rhythm of tongue and teeth. The fervor behind the kiss took Rey’s breath away and she was caught up in it, like a poor little boat that was lost at sea. 

 

Her hands moved up his chest around his neck, one tangling in his hair as she arched into him. The Sheriff made a pleasant noise in the back of his throat that made her stomach do excited flips. When his teeth started to tug at her lower lip, Rey remembered that seducing him like this was a part of the plan to gain his trust. The thought soured her stomach and she pushed against his chest to break the kiss.

 

“Something wrong?” He asked, clearly disappointed. Rey was too.

 

“I’m just...worn from today.” She cleared her throat, backing out of his arms. “And last night.” The greatest understatement she had ever uttered. Her body sang when he touched her and it was still uncanny to her. She should hate him but found she no longer could. Rey didn’t even dislike him enough to continue their kiss that would eventually lead them upstairs, to his bed.

 

“I’d like to sleep.” Rey looked up at him with honest eyes.

 

His gaze didn’t reveal whatever was going on through his head as he nodded. “Alright. Are you-” 

 

“In my own room, yes.” Rey answered his unspoken question. She needed to make it normal for her to sleep elsewhere, so he wouldn’t try to see if she had left one of these nights when they decided to go after Gisborne.

 

He nodded again. “Sleep well.” The Sheriff pursed his kiss-swollen lips and brushed past her.

 

Rey turned. “You’re not going to bed?”

 

He didn’t pause or answer before leaving the house, the door closing heavily behind him.

 

Rey sighed. She might’ve made a mistake for giving into her guilt or compassion or whatever it was that had prevented her from finishing what they had started. At least she had been true to herself. But morals didn’t feed people. Speaking of, an idea for tomorrow placed itself firmly in her mind as she climbed the stairs and went into her room. 

 

When she was dressed in just her thin chemise, she climbed into the cool blankets of her bed and fell asleep with another plot on how the rich could give back to the poor.


	11. Satus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, another update! Another victory! I have the plot outlined better so things should run more smoothly, especially since finals week is coming up and I'll be able to write more often outside of my job! Maybe I'll be able to finish the story this summer, I don't know. Probably not. I have so many ideas and I don't know where this will take me and it kind of depends if you guys are interested in it as well. Anyway, here it is! Chapter 11! Enjoy!

The Sheriff of Nottingham went to bed and woke up disappointed for the next few days. Really, he knew he couldn’t pressure his wife into enjoying the God given right married couples could share in bed at night. Well, he could but he wasn’t going to do that. He had seen plenty of that in the Holy Lands, all of it disgusted him. 

 

He had thought with how eager she had responded to him on their wedding night, she would be eager to continue such activities. When that wasn’t the case for night two to five, Ben was shamefully disappointed by the gentle rejection his wife gave him. Here had been a chance for him to actually treat sex with intimacy compared to his time in the Crusades, stress and lust his main drive then. Ben wasn’t really a holy man, but he wanted happiness in a marriage. Not what his parents had.

 

By the fifth day, his injured pride had healed. He tried not to doubt if he was any good in bed and that was the reason she was avoiding his; Kira didn’t have anything else to compare him to. Right?

 

Like maggots, his doubts preyed on the fringes of his conscious as he went about his day. Ben wondered if it was sane to think of someone so much in such a short amount of time. His thoughts were consumed by her. This was madness. It had to be. Not even the Crusades had him such an emotional mess, not in this way.

 

Ben was entering his home after visiting Gisborne to finalize some plans when he heard a pot crash. He stepped inside quickly, just in time to hear the back door in the kitchen close. Seconds later, Kira was running out of the kitchen with a flushed face. When she saw him, she stopped like a deer that caught the faintest scent of a wolf.

 

“Oh,” Kira tucked loose strands of her hair behind her ear, “You’re home early.”

 

Ben kept his features masked as regarded her. “Yes, Gisborne had the courtesy to stop going on about himself after three hours.”

 

That made a knowing smirk cross her face. It pleased him to know that he could get such a reaction that wasn’t wide eyes, wariness, or her previous bouts of contempt when they first met. They weren’t his parents and they weren’t fools in love, but they seemed to be heading in the right direction so far.

 

“You were gone for longer. I can only imagine what other boring things he had to carry on with.”

 

Ben shrugged. He had already told her Gisborne was planning his little competition. “Not so much boring as it was annoying. He was adamant about the amount of my guards he wanted posted.”

 

Kira tilted her head slightly as her brows furrowed. “That took a few more hours?”

 

Ben snorted and shook his head. “Not just that, no.” His eyes flicked momentarily to the kitchen, seeing shards of the broken pot on the ground. 

 

Kira turned and followed his gaze. “Ah, I was in a hurry and knocked it over.”

 

The Sheriff looked at his wife’s apologetic expression. There was a wariness under the mask, he could make it out in her eyes. Ben was known for his occasional...tantrums. Another thing the people pissed on him about, even though the town drunkard was caught repeatedly beating his children past a disciplinary manner.

 

“We can clean it up later. First, I want a bath.” He was saddle sore and dusty from helping Gisborne spot out a clearing on his land for the competition that would be convenient for any woodsy outlaws to pop out into.

 

Kira nodded. She turned to go back to the kitchen before halting and turning back to him. “Do you need any help?”

 

The question itself was harmless. Ben tried to remind himself of that lest his hopes sore too high. It had only been one time but a bath had united them. 

 

Maintaining an air of indifference, Ben accepted her assistance with grace. It would help to have an extra pair of hands to draw water from the well. He shoved his expectations to the side the best he could, but like his doubts, they gnawed at the edge of his curiosity.

* * *

 

Considering he was physically worn from a day on horseback, Ben turned out to be very grateful for the extra help. It got him thinking about how long it had been since someone had aided him, even in the most mundane way of drawing water from the well and pouring it into the tub next to it. Kira took over the work without much fuss, allowing Ben to sit on one of the benches and relax for a second.

 

Watching her, he noticed the dirt that was on her dress, hands, and even on her face. It occurred to him then that the reason he hadn’t seen her inside the house often was because she was outside, in the garden.

 

“Have you planted anything?”

 

Kira looked up at him in surprise, almost dropping the bucket full of water. She dumped it into the tub and stirred the embers under the tub to keep the water hot as she continued to top it off. “I have. I planted some herbs. Hopefully they’ll take.”

 

The casualness of her tone made something warm inside Ben. He chuckled. “Hopefully?”

 

“Am I to remind you that you’ve married the worst woman to take care of a garden?”

 

A smile twitched on his lips. “No. I’m just glad you’re using your wedding gift.”

 

Kira poured in one last bucket of water before she wiped her brow of sweat. Slowly, her eyes lifted to meet his. “I never-”

 

Ben held up a hand. “You don’t need to.”

 

Her shoulders sagged a bit but there was half smile on her face as she accepted his words.

 

“But I do need some help.”

 

Those hazel eyes narrowed on him suspiciously.

 

Ben gestured to his tunic and the chainmail under it. After the one fateful night of receiving his scar, he had dug out his old chainmail in case Robin or his men ambushed him in the forest with Gisborne. He counted himself lucky, getting away with the ugly mark that ran down his face and part of his shoulder. The smaller man could have killed him if he had desired it.

 

“You make it sound like your wedding present is me helping you out of your chainmail.” Kira spoke wryly as she approached him after dousing the embers under the tub so it could begin to cool enough to get in.

 

“If it is that, I would be most grateful.” Ben said honestly.

 

She pursed her lips but Ben saw the smile as she began to untie the tunic.

 

“Kira?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Have I done something?”

 

She paused at a knot momentarily before carrying on. “What do you mean?”

 

“I know I gave you your own room but I have been wondering why you keep away from me when I am home.” He cautiously peaked at her in a sidelong manner. When she was finished untying the knots keeping his tunic over his armor, she pulled it over his head and tossed it to the side.

 

“There’s a clasp.” He gestured to his neck, where the hood of his mail was linked to the rest of the getup. 

 

She approached him, getting close enough for him to smell the earth and sunshine off of her. It was a pleasant musk, compared to his cooking under heavy layers.

 

“Well, it has been hard adjusting.” Kira finally answered.

 

“Yes, I understand that-”

 

“No, not with the change in how my days are carried out. I don’t mind it much now. What I mean is that it has been hard to adjust with you.” She unclasped the hood and placed it heavily on the table nearby. 

 

Ben must have looked put off because she continued to explain before he could ask.

 

“I thought I knew you. I knew what I wanted to know about you, like everyone else. I believed you were a monster.”

 

He thought of the night she had gotten royally pissed over how he had taken over her room. If he had known it was her room, he wouldn’t have taken it at the time. Luke was a cunning old bastard. Ben had seeked out Kira an hour later only to find her curled up by the fire. He’d surrendered a blanket and tucked her in, making her mumble in her sleep. That was the moment when Ben thought maybe he could tolerate her sharp tongue in marriage if only he could see that gentle side.

 

Now, Kira was admitting something most were too proud to do. She was behind him now, unclasping the rest of his chainmail along his back so he couldn’t see her face as she continued.

 

“And yet you have shown small kindnesses some don’t even consider making for me.”

 

Ben opened his mouth to say anything to negate her words but she was right. Where he had given her space, most men felt entitled to their women and took them by force. His father had felt entitled. And while his mother never allowed him to place a hand on her when she didn’t want it, she still had to make the effort and show her displeasure.

 

Finally, the chainmail was all unclasped and Kira came around in front of him to tug it off over his head. Ben ended up leaning forward from the weight of all the metal passing over his head. It got somewhat stuck at one point but Kira tugged harder and it came loose, knocking her back and pulling him forward. He landed on top of her with the mail.

 

“Ben.” She wheezed. “I can’t breathe.”

 

It took him a second to process anything she said after ‘Ben’. How did she know? The sly smile of Friar Lorsan’s face filtered into his head. He wouldn’t doubt the old gossip had told her some things about him.

 

“Please!”

 

“Sorry.” He was brought back to his sense from her plea and pushed himself off of her lithe body enough to pull the chainmail from in between them. There he stayed above her, staring into her eyes because she had still said his name. His actual name. Most didn’t know it and those that did would rather say his nickname as another way to spit on him.

 

She was panting, her chest rising to barely brush against his. Suddenly, he was very aware of her being and her soft breath against his neck. 

 

“Do you still want to take a bath while it’s warm?” Her tone was playful but there was a darker light in her eyes, something that mirrored in his own. It was reserved but hungry. So he didn’t horrorify her after all. Her words had said as much but the look in her eyes cemented them to truth in his mind.

 

Ben licked his lips and pushed himself off to the side. Kira sat up and began untying the last layer of clothing he didn’t necessarily need help with. The final tunic was pulled off and by that time, they were both breathing somewhat harder from either the labor or the tension that had been struck anew between them.

 

She began to gather the clothing, leaving the mail and was heading to the door when Ben asked after her.

 

“Join me?”

 

Kira turned, that light still in her eyes. “Are baths becoming a code for us?” 

 

So she was aware of how he felt too. Though, the situation in his pants probably gave off enough evidence. Ben decided to press his luck. 

 

“They can be.” A boyish smile lit his features but he waited without breathing.

 

She pursed her lips and looked down. “Thank you.”

 

His hopes flopped.

 

“I still want to get used to you. Outside of baths.” Kira met his gaze gently.

 

His hopes soared. That was better than any sex he could ask for. His dream at achieving a better relationship with his wife than his father did had just become almost tangible.

 

“As you wish.” Ben nodded.

 

She smiled and slipped out of the room, leaving him with an angry erection and renewed hope. If there had been something Han Strod had been right about, it was that a wife could effortlessly and unknowingly be the death of her husband.


	12. Mendacium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Chapter 12 is here! You are all in for a treat *wink wink*! The plot thickens (as do other things *cough*). Anyway, enjoy! I'm giving up on having a schedule, I'm sorry guys. I still have so many writing projects I have but I guess that happens when you're a Creative Writing Major. All comments and kudos are loved! Thank you!

Rey leaned heavily against the door for a moment after she closed it behind her, separating herself from her half naked husband. Her heart was racing for multiple reasons, one of them being the fact that he had been half naked. The more important and pressing reason was majorly why she had passed up the opportunity to join him in the bath. That reason being Finn was outside, hiding in the garden. If he was smart, he probably already left but Rey new her friend.

 

She strode through the house quickly, dumping Ben’s clothes in a pile in the laundry room to be taken care of later as she passed. Her hair was in disarray and she was still breathing raggedly when she ran through the kitchen, out to the garden.

 

“Oh, Sweet Mary!” Finn jumped out from behind a some barrels, scaring Rey. “I thought you were him.”

 

“What are you still doing here?” Rey hissed, hand over her wild heart. She could hear its beat in her ears.

 

Finn seemed just as out of breath as she did. “I didn’t know if he saw me. I thought he found you out, so I stayed as back up.”

 

“Back up?” Rey felt like crying from frustration and relief. This was all coming too close to falling out from under them already and she couldn’t help but feel it was all her fault.

 

The stable master finally seemed to get his wits about him as he observed Rey and her state of being. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. This whole thing has me all wound up. I trust you, I just don’t trust the Sheriff.”

 

Rey focused on controlling her breathing before giving him a small, thankful smile. His choice of words brought her back to strange summit she’d found herself at for the past few days. Ben was a complicated man but friendly enough. Rey wanted to get to know him genuinely, but with everything else, he was her enemy. She couldn’t trust him. She almost couldn’t trust herself with her emotions.

 

“Do you want to talk?” Finn raised his hands up in surrender when she gave him a sharp but confused look. “You only have that look about you.”

 

Rey shook her head. “No. I’m about as wound up as you are about everything.” She rubbed her temples as a headache started to emerge.

 

He chuckled. “Well, you are on the front lines of it all.”

 

“The front lines of what all?”

 

Rey turned sharply to see Gwen standing in the doorway to the kitchen. The only other woman Rey knew of in Nottingham that had training with weapons. She wasn’t kindly looked upon by the men, but her sword kept them silent. Most didn’t know about Rey, even the servants under Luke. He had kept her training secret.

 

“The front lines of these gardens.” Finn picked up quickly, leaning casually on the barrels he had been hiding behind minutes earlier.

 

Gwen raised an elegant blonde eyebrow. “Hopefully not all the time. I’ve heard the rumors.” She looked at Rey with an amused glint, most likely hinting at her brown thumb. Finn graced her with a genuine laugh that was cut off quickly by some coughing. Rey wisely didn’t reply and instead looked embarrassed to go along with the joke. 

 

Gwen looked between the two of them for a moment before speaking up again. “Where is the Sheriff? He left these at Gisborne’s earlier.” She held up a handful of rolled-up parchments in a gloved hand. “Plans for the little fete Gisborne is trying to set up.” She didn’t seem incredibly impressed about the idea nor did she seem mindful of how freely she gave the information,

 

Without looking at Finn, Rey answered, “He’s bathing. You can leave those in his office if you wish.”

 

The other woman nodded. “Very well. Lady Kira. You.” She said in a way of goodbye to them both before disappearing back into the house.

 

“We should just camp out in Sherwood with the other lads.” Finn spoke up after a few silent, tense moments of making sure Gwen was no  longer in earshot.

 

Rey turned on him with a quirked brow. “You say that now? Just after plans for the competition were almost in our hands a moment ago?”

 

He shrugged. “We can go after you’ve had a look. It’s a lot less dangerous out there. We know those woods. There are traps for pursuers.”

 

“I thought it was agreed my station was beneficial for us all.”

 

“It is. Thing is, Rose has noticed how you get when the Sheriff comes up in conversation these past few days when you visit.”

 

Oh no. “How do I get?”

 

“Not like you used to. Listen, I’m not here to judge you. I’m just reminding you that if he finds out you’re the one behind his scar, there’s no telling what he’ll do. But we’ve all concluded it’s bad.”

 

Rey’s brows drew together, her face starting to color in shame. “‘All’? Who is all?”

 

Finn looked a bit sheepish. “Well, Rose and Poe and I. The lads in the woods haven’t been told a whisper more than the marriage and plan, but-”

 

“But you will continue to tell them nothing of this!” Rey hissed, her face now fully flushed from embarrassment. Had she really gotten herself so clouded that her companions could see what she was trying to hide?

 

Finn gave her an expectant look.

 

“I’m not a fool, Finn. I know what I must do.” Her voice sounded too much like defeat to her own ears but her friend seemed satisfied, as he should be. Falling for the enemy would bring them all to harm in the end. Rey couldn’t put her troubled feelings over her men, that wouldn’t make her a good leader or friend by endangering them.

 

“You should go have a look at his office while you can. I’ll let the others know that you’ve found something. Should we expect you to visit tonight?” 

 

“Yes. I’ll meet you in the stables.”

 

He nodded and surprised her with an embrace. Rey hugged him back, appreciating the comfort of a friend. Without another word, he pulled back and nodded his goodbye before he hopped over the low garden wall. Finn ran into the woods that were not too far from the house, disappearing between the trees within moments of breaking the treeline. 

 

Rey didn’t watch him go. She immediately turned to go back into the house, checking through the front windows to see if Gwen had left. The lady was riding off in the direction of Gisborne’s estate.

 

Wasting no time, Rey rushed up the stairs to her husband’s office. There still wasn’t a lock on the door and she felt insulted. She would have thought he would have one installed by the town’s old locksmith after she invaded his office weeks ago. Perhaps he didn’t expect the Hood to return.

 

Fool him twice, shame on him.

 

Rey entered the room quietly. It was surprisingly neat compared to the chaos last time she had been in here. She didn’t stop to admire or look at anything. There was a mission to be fulfilled.

 

The parchments weren’t hard to find, resting on top of the neat pile in the middle of her husband’s desk. She picked them up and began scanning through them. 

 

Rey almost cursed out loud. Words. They were mostly words. She could make out some, the few Luke had sparingly taught her. Between archery and trying to keep up appearances, he hadn’t been able to help her learn. 

 

Frustration rose in her as she flipped through each page, trying to find something useful. Of course, there were many words that were “arrow” and “archery” but Rey couldn’t tell what the guard count would be and what positions they would be taking.

 

On the last parchment, she paused. A map had been scribbled lazily in ink. A map of Gisborne’s lands. The clearing outside of his house was occupied by a large square. There were benches surrounding an archery range on either side and a covered one behind it. Circles were drawn at certain points of the map with numbers. Rey was certainly lucky to know the symbols for numbers.

 

She stared at the last piece of parchment, trying to commit it to memory.

 

Moments later, she heard heavy footsteps from down the hall. Heart going mad like a panicked chicken, Rey set the papers back on the desk and turned. In the threshold was her husband, shirtless and shooting her a inquisitive look. 

 

“Lady Gwen dropped off some papers that you left at Gisborne’s from earlier today. I was just setting them here for you.” By some miracle, her voice sounded casual. However, her heart felt like it was going to give out. The fright of seeing him there already, shirtless, was going to make her swoon. It felt ridiculous, to be this affected by a man she should despise. 

 

Already, her resolve was clouded by the way her body was reacting to the visual of him. His shoulders were wide and while his form wasn’t chunky, it wasn’t exactly lean either. Remembering the offer for the bath from earlier had her blushing again. She regretted saying no to him but a part of her knew it was good that she had. The part that was slowly being suffocated by the ever growing desire that had awoken on her wedding night.

 

Ben nodded and took her word for it. Rey knew better than to let out a relieved sigh and instead held it in her chest desperately. In the afternoon light, she could make out the amber and hazel in his usually dark eyes. 

 

The unneeded guilt came back. The guilt that had begun to sprout when she realized he wasn’t as sour as everyone made him out to be. When he had been so tender and patient with her, patient even before their marriage. He hadn’t been tender then but he had taken the wounds that came from her tongue. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. Her friends were counting on her to not do what she was struggling with. She needed a distraction before she began to crumble from trying to keep it all together.

 

“The desk-” She started to speak and then stopped when she realized how awkward it sounded in her head. Damn it all, she felt incredibly naive even though she was sure she no longer was. Her body was giving her cues that told her what it wanted.

 

“What about the desk?” Her husband seemed genuinely confused about this new topic, probably wondering what reason it was brought up for. Rey wasn’t sure if he would like it or not, considering he seemed to like things in order.

 

She stepped back until her bum bumped the edge. “Is it sturdy?” Rey hopped up and sat on the desk to make her point clear, moving things astray with her bottom.

 

The look on his face was incredulous. It made her force back a smile, hoping he wouldn’t turn down the offer of messing around in his office. Granted, she had rejected him that way for almost a week now. Rey didn’t feel like she could get frustrated if he denied her. 

 

Ben was a clever man and it didn’t take long for realization to dawn on his features. Funny, though. Rey couldn’t quite place when she started to think of him by his given name rather than his nickname.

 

“You  _ want _ -” He began but she was already nodding. She needed this or she’d have to go back to ignoring him which didn’t seem like a better alternative. Not when this way felt so good.

 

He was already striding forward. It only took him a few paces to reach her. He cupped her face in his large, calloused hands and tilted her head up so that her lips met his. It wasn’t gentle like their first time. Their lips were pressed hard against each other before one of his arms went around her back, pushing her against him. Rey gasped when she felt his hardness against her belly. Her husband took the invitation to sweep her mouth with his tongue and a small war ensued with their mouths as Rey fought desperately for dominance, focusing entirely on him and forgetting everything else.

 

Her hands travelled up into his hair, combing through his damp locks. Ben broke the kiss only to brush his lips along her chin before he began kissing a sensitive spot on her neck. Rey sighed into the feeling, leaning her head back so he’d have better access. Subsequently, her breasts were pushed against his bare chest and the growl that came from him made her hips buck wantonly. She needed friction. Now.

 

Ben seemed to understand as he stooped down momentarily to get his hand under her skirts. He stood as his hand traced its way from her calves to the back of her thighs. All this while their eyes were locked onto each other, both gazes hooded with want. His hand was warm as it glided over the top of her thigh, smoothing over the soft skin of her inner thigh. It went higher. Higher. Rey closed her eyes in anticipation. His hand paused.

 

She opened her eyes to a cocky bastard with a wicked grin. What kind of cruel game was this?

 

“What are you doing?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, her breathing hard as she glared at him.

 

“I am waiting for a magic word.”

 

Her brows scrunched together in frustration. “Magic?”

 

“It’s simple. You merely say ‘please’ and I will do as you wish.” His expression was amused. He must be very pleased with himself, Rey realized. Somehow, her husband liked doing this. Teasing.

 

“Please.” She breathed without much hesitation.

 

“Please what?”

 

Rey snarled impatiently and made to grab his manhood over his trousers but he forced her back with his body weight, laying her in a ruined pile of papers. His hand was still on her thigh, one of his legs spreading hers as he leaned heavily over her.

 

“Play fair.” He warned, his tone inviting her to do exactly the opposite. Rey felt like melting then and there from the heat of it all.

 

“Touch me, please.”

 

“I am.”

 

What a clever ass. Rey wasn’t as amused as the man above her though. Was this the payback from denying him for the past week? He hadn’t done anything like this their first night. He had made it all about her. This time seemed to be for him. This moment anyway.

 

But her patience had run thin. “Ben, I swear to all that is good, if you-” She broke off in a gasp as his devilish fingers reached the apex of her thighs. He moaned when he felt how slick her folds were, how ready she was for him.

 

He pulled back and Rey expected him to take of his trousers but instead he kneeled between her legs. Confused, Rey propped herself on her elbows as she watched him hike up her skirts until her lower half was visible to him. He tugged her thighs closer, bringing her near the edge with one strong movement. 

 

Ben looked like a starved man for a moment before his mouth met the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, near her sex. His mouth eased a path up to her core and he paused directly over it when he reached it, his eyes meeting hers.

 

“Please.” The word came out a tender, cautious whisper. 

 

Ben didn’t tease her as his tongue laved over her folds. It was surreal. Rey’s head fell back with a moan that became louder when his tongue found her clit. She squeaked out an unladylike curse and her hips bucked against his mouth. Ben all but devoured her. Her toes curled from the pleasure as he sucked on the sensitive bud of her sex. It didn’t take long for her to start feeling like her insides were coiling up in pleasure. Nor did it take long after for that coil to spring and waves of an orgams to overtake her as she rode his mouth. She was out of breath at the end of it.

 

Still, she asked, “Can you do that again?”

 

A pause.

 

“Please?”

 

He obliged her after a chuckle that made her insides clench. His fingers massaged her thighs as he lapped at her sex and Rey squirmed over his desk. When she came a second time, he hauled her off the desk and pulled her against him. His mouth slanted over hers and Rey could still taste herself on his lips, making her moan against him.

 

He broke the kiss and moved her to the side. She was still processing if that meant anything until he swept everything off of his desk, replacing all that had been there with her. Rey giggled, a noise she was sure she hadn’t shared often with this man. Ben chuckled with her, undoing the ties of his trousers so that his erection sprang free from its bonds. He climbed on the desk over her, settling in between her legs. They both hiked up her skirts before he positioned himself at her entrance.

 

They watched each other as he slowly slid into her and it only made her wetter to see his face crumple with pleasure. Rey’s hands traveled down the expanse of his back, up to his hair, and then back down as he started to make a pace. He buried his face into the crook of her neck as he wasted no time in thrusting into her, Rey ready enough to take the size of him. Their moans filled the office as the desk rocked slightly under the movement. They both laughed when the desk started to creak when his thrusts became more frantic.

 

His thrusts started to hit a sweet spot inside her and the pleasure was so much, Rey bit his shoulder. He growled huskily and his thrusts became more erratic, straining to hit that spot that made her fingernails drag down his back. Then his hand was in between them, rubbing that sensitive bud. It didn’t take two seconds before Rey cried out from her third orgasm. Ben quickly followed her, grunting into her neck until he collapsed on top of her, exhausted and spent.

 

They lay there for a few minutes with him still inside her, their panting filling the quiet.

 

Rey cleared her throat. “Your desk passed inspection.”

 

Above her, Ben’s laughter vibrated through her body. Rey couldn't have felt even more conflicted in that moment.


End file.
